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Mere months into the David Hodge era, the new Miami president has made it clear that he wishes to be visible among the university community.

Hodge answered student questions in a press conference Sept. 28 sponsored by the Miami Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Light-hearted in his summary of his short tenure as president so far, he commented on the possible ill effects of the start by the RedHawks football team.

"This might be my first and last press conference," he joked two days before the football team lost for the fifth time.

He described himself as a human sponge in the past 90 days, soaking up all things Miami.

Just two minutes spent introducing himself, he opened the floor for what the students wished to discuss.

Hodge voiced his pleasure in the new Miami Access Initiative that would give free tuition to students coming from families making less than $35,000 a year.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to think this is happening," he said. "This doesn't solve all of our problems, but it does send a clear message to students that from an economic point of view, Miami is possible."

Hodge also touched on the Alcohol Task Force and the future of Western College, two issues crossing over from the previous administration. He noted that recommendations and a decision on what will become of Western will soon come up, and public debate will be taken into consideration.

As for the continuing concern of student alcohol consumption, Hodge called it a "vexing problem," and said many of the recommendations of the task force have been put into action.

But the issue that appeared to really hit a nerve with the new president was student apathy.

"Education isn't just what you do in the classroom," he said.

Hodge made it clear that as he has tried to reach out to students, he wishes for them to reach back and become involved in administrative decisions. He embraced the mindset of community-wide participation.

"When you don't show up and you don't do the work it sort of encourages people to ignore you," he said. "I think you should be there and you should participate."

Cheryl Gibbs, a professor in Miami's journalism department, praised Hodge's outreach to the students.

"I found him to be very personable and honest," she said. "(He's) quite sincere in involving students."

Nancy Averett, also of the journalism department, agreed.

"He showed to be comfortable talking to the students and building a community here," she said.

Hodge's availability to the public has made an impression on the students, marking a departure from his predecessor, James Garland.

"(Hodge) is making himself more visible to students just by addressing them," noted Miami senior Joshua Dean. "I don't think I ever saw Garland around."