SGA forum to correct school complaints gets little support

     The A&S auditorium was silent last Tuesday night as SGA President Ryan Greene introduced the SGA campus wide forum with a 15-minute summary of SGA’s current plans to improve student life for GCSU students.
     After Greene made his key points regarding campus parking issues and Cat Cash woes, he opened the floor for students to ask questions and lodge complaints, but out of the small group of 30—the majority being SGA members—only four spoke up.
     The Campus wide forum was planned to last from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., offering GCSU students ample time to speak out about campus issues and complaints, but after just 20 short minutes the crowd was silent and the forum was over.
     SGA secretary Alissa Torchia voiced her concerns about the lack of direct communication between SGA and the student body.
     “Tonight’s turnout wasn’t as successful as planned,” Torchia said. “I wish students would show more pride in our school and how it is run.”
     This year SGA has tried new outlets to allow students to voice their opinions, not only with the campus-wide open forum but also with weekly SGA reports in The Colonnade and plans for a complaint table on front campus to hear the real issues students care about on campus.
     As of now, the major complaint SGA hears about is campus parking problems.
     “Parking is the number one issue on campus,” SGA President Ryan Greene said. “(Parking) is the biggest issue (SGA) has spent the most time on but it also has some of the least flexibility.”
     Greene explains that due to the limited parking spaces and priority for faculty parking over student parking, there isn’t much SGA can do about parking shortage on campus. However, SGA’s current solution is to convert both Peabody and Kilpatrick lots into both faculty and student parking.
     Along with parking concerns, Greene’s presentation at the campus-wide forum also discussed plans to make the GCSU website more user-friendly, extending library hours, and offering better dining dollar and Cat Cash options.
     “We’re making noticeable changes,” SGA Attorney General Michael George said. “(SGA) is trying to voice the student’s opinions and make student life more enjoyable.”
     In order to make student life more enjoyable, however, students have to speak out to SGA about the problems and solutions for campus issues.
     “If (GCSU students) want the best experience out of college, they should show concern, get involved and voice their opinions,” Torchia said.
     To show your concern about campus issues, or offer suggestions or complaints to SGA, you can post your comments on the SGA website forum: http://gcsuforum.freeforums.org.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 18 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry