Students voiced concerns about tuition, meal plans and program accessibility at a town hall meeting with ASU President Michael Crow Thursday.
More than 100 students, alumni and faculty attended the meeting in the Memorial Union.
"Everyone had fair questions and complaints," Crow said. "This was very constructive."
Crow and his administration organized a series of the town hall meetings at the ASU Tempe, West and Polytechnic campuses to discuss initiatives of the New American University, including tuition and student accessibility to the University's programs.
One of the main issues addressed at the meeting was the state Legislature's contribution to financial aid.
Crow said the University raised $350 million for financial aid last year, but only $400,000 was funded by the state.
"I don't know if you know what a pissant is," he said. "But that is a small, tiny, infinitesimal amount."
To make gender orientation a more comfortable issue, Em Pleshe, who earned a master's degree in public administration in 2005, asked Crow if sensitivity training was an option under the University's nondiscrimination policy.
Pleshe said questions on applications asking for a person to specify sex as either male or female is a sensitive subject.
Crow said he was pleased to have been a part of extending the policy to include gender orientation two years ago, but if students encounter problems, they need to notify administration.
"We will address these things," Crow said. "The nondiscrimination policy is enforced vigorously."
Political science junior Cole Hickman said he was concerned the proposed mandatory meal plans that could be implemented next fall would make it difficult for low-income students to live on campus.
"The cost of the meal plan doesn't seem to reflect the interest in making sure access to the campus is available to lower-income students," he said.
But Crow said this would not be a problem.
"No one will be excluded [from the meal plan] who has the inability to pay," he said.
Crow said ASU administration would attempt to address all of the concerns presented at the meeting.
Pleshe said Crow did a sufficient job answering questions and providing interesting information students might not have otherwise known.
"I feel he may not know about all of the details, but it's important to hear from him that he wants to hear about these issues," Pleshe said.
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
