MAST Academy students crowd the Biscayne Bay Campus cafeteria during their lunch hour. Photo by Sofia Galiano.
Sofia Galiano/Contributing Writer
In August, Biscayne Bay Campus welcomed the Maritime Science Technology Academy. As the program’s first semester comes to an end, the high school students crowd the cafeteria and use student services with their FIU OneCards — issues that the Student Government Association is investigating.
BBC-SGA President Fu Zhou Wu said MAST students were issued FIU OneCards to use facilities on campus, granting them access to services including on-campus events and the Recreation Center.
Wu claims SGA is working to see how much MAST students are spending in University services and whether they should be charged a fee in the future.
“After they swipe their card, we can get the data,” she said. “It’s the beginning.”
The MAST@FIU partnership is roughly three months old. SGA is monitoring the progress of the program. Meanwhile, MAST students utilize services paid by University students’ tuition.
BBC Vice Provost Steven Moll said there are about 90 ninth graders in the program, but by next year, the current ninth graders will move to tenth grade and a new ninth grade class will join them.
According to Moll, Miami-Dade Public Schools will build a permanent facility between Academic Two and the Kovens Conference Center housing one thousand MAST Academy students in two years.
FIU students appreciate the MAST program for the opportunities it brings the high schoolers; however, they disapprove of MAST students taking part in recreational activities and using other services paid out of college students’ pockets.
Moll said Miami-Dade Public Schools is paying for Academy students to take college classes and to use University facilities.
He said the purpose of the program is to incorporate the high schoolers into the mainstream of University life, and they are just as much college students as the ones who pay FIU tuition.
“They are FIU students,” he said. “They are taking FIU classes.”
University students disagreed.
[pullquote]“If they are using the services provided by the A&S fee, I don’t think it’s right,” said Andre.[/pullquote] “I think the exposure is good, but if they’re abusing it then that’s no bueno,” said Valerie Andre, junior psychology major.
She said it’s good that MAST students are able to utilize BBC and familiarize themselves with the University, but it becomes an issue when it’s at the expense of the University students’ tuition.
University students also complained that MAST students crowd the cafeteria during lunch time, taking up tables to facilitate an entire high school class.
The MAST students gather in the small BBC cafeteria from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. for lunch, leaving few seating options for University students like Rebecca Budhoo, a sophomore biology major.
“They should eat at a different location instead of the café, because there are already a lot of students here,” said Budhoo. “Sometimes there’s not even a seat available.”
Wu and SGA Chief Justice Francheska Periche both said they didn’t know University students were bothered by the MAST students in the cafeteria.
Periche said the lunch rush for University students is at noon, therefore the MAST students shouldn’t affect others eating on campus.
“To my knowledge, I haven’t seen any complaints about it,” said Periche.
Wu said she will contact Business and Services to investigate the issue and find a possible solution.
Budhoo suggested the freshmen class eat in smaller groups and at different times to occupy less space in the café.
“I don’t mind them being here,” said Budhoo, but she is burdened by the crowded cafeteria of high schoolers.
There are also students that are unaffected by this dilemma because they do not eat on campus.
Students like Andre come to class and then go home, avoiding the cafeteria and the MAST students altogether.
“I’ve never seen them,” said Andre.
Although the issue affects University students eating on campus, those concerns have not been voiced to faculty.
Moll said MAST students used to eat outside then moved inside the cafeteria for a 30-minute lunch break, “and then it’s back to work.”
Budhoo may be bothered by the crowded cafeteria of high schoolers during her lunch break, but said she can’t stand the MAST students using student-paid services.
“That I can definitely not tolerate,” Budhoo said. “That’s a no.”
Periche said the University is using this time to see how the program is going to perform.
“This year is a trial run,” she said.
– bbc@fiusm.com
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