Photo of Hepburn Hall taken by Tia Warren

Administrator Brian Kirkpatrick shows up to SGA meeting after it was already adjourned. 

The February 5th SGA meeting was advertised to be an opportunity for students to discuss financial issues with Kirkpatrick, the CFO and  VP of Finance for NJCU. SGA decided to wait 45 minutes to give him time to show up but heard no word from him and ultimately had to end the meeting early.

Kirkpatrick later showed up to the meeting, unaware that it would end before 4pm.

 The SGA president, Ruth Diegue states: “During our SGA meeting with him, he promised that he would be attending this meeting on February 5th.” They later found out that even though he agreed to come to the SGA meeting, he had a different finance meeting scheduled at the same time and did not inform any of the SGA board that he would not be able to make it on time.

Diegue states, “He took our time and he was not here when he promised to be here.”

Many students had come to the SGA meeting in hopes to discuss problems with the financial aid department and were left disappointed.

NJCU senior Jordan Southerland shares why she took time out of her day to speak to Kirkpatrick at this meeting, “My question would be all about the scholarship that their members of their board were talking about… Whenever I go to financial aid they tell me a story and they can’t get onto my account. I keep going back every week to get the same answer.”

Southerland states, “The whole process is irritating. It could waste a lot of time. I could definitely be studying or getting other things done but I’m still at the school having to deal with their attitudes from people who don’t even like their job.”

Other students were hoping to get answers from Kirkpatrick about confusion regarding stipends that some student leaders were expecting to receive in December but still have not received two months later. 

Kirkpatrick’s absence at the SGA meeting has left students craving answers and feeling neglected.