Picnic benches, parking spaces and the Campus Activities Board were at the center of discussion amongst SGA members at a recent meeting.
Every topic brought up was passed by a vote. The three most discussed issues involved limited parking spaces in the Greek village due to maintenance allotting up to eight spaces at a time, a re-structuring of the Campus Activities Board to allow for more student involvement and most notably, the lack of seating in the new union.
One of the major concerns brought up was the amount of available seating in the War Memorial Student Union. Many students feel that there is not enough seating on the first floor, according to Vice President of SGA, Jeff Simmons.
Simmons said many of the complaints related to the union are a result of it not being completed yet.
“The student union is only in the first phase,” said Simmons. “Recently, the SGA passed [plans for] the new quad area. There will be additional seating out there. I know a lot of students have been complaining there’s no benches outside the union. They’re trying to finish the quad area, and once that’s done, they’re going to put benches there and make sure they’re all around outside the union.”
Simmons and other members of the SGA believe that putting picnic tables in the area in between the union and the quad would fix the lack of seating which plagues the lunch and dinner time hours. They also believe the quad can be used for other purposes as well.
“We used to have events inside the covered area [of the old student union mall area.] It would get hot and crowded. But now with the new quad area open, people can still be in the union, but it will bring a lot of organizations and events that are held out in the quad, where there can be ten times as many people.”
Another benefit to be brought about by this change is how it will influence incoming freshmen’s decisions in choosing to attend Southeastern.
“[These additions] will help bring in freshmen at orientation in the summer to Southeastern,” said Simmons. “That’s why we’re trying to get it done as soon as possible. That way when summer orientation comes, this is what students are going to see and they’ll compare it to other schools.”