SGA invites concerns, criticism during open forum
SGA held an open forum Nov. 10, in the West Campus center so students could share their opinions about common issues.
In this informal meeting, several students presented concerns and suggestions to members of SGA. One of the first issues addressed was Sodexo’s hours of operation.
The students who voiced their opinions wanted the dining hall to be open later. One student suggested having a card reader on the door of the dining hall to allow students to enter at night. They don’t necessarily want full service all night, but some food available such as cereal and coffee in Styrofoam dishes.
SGA informed the students that Sodexo’s contract would be over soon and GCSU has been looking at other food providers. Three businesses have expressed interest. GCSU will choose between Sodexo, ARAMARK and Chartwells. GCSU will choose the company that can offer them “the most bang for their buck,” according to Evan Karanovich, the SGA vice president.
The next dining services will be asked look into providing an option of “grab and go” meals at the dining hall, so students can take food with them to go.
Along with a new food provider, the dining hall will also undergo more renovations. Zach Mullins, the SGA president, assured the students that the renovations will be funded by Auxiliary Services, not with student fees.
Another issue brought up was the problem with shuttles getting full at certain peak times. Many students from The Village expressed problems with being late for class because they could not get a seat on the shuttle. Also, students said that the shuttles were late sometimes and they did not know when the next one would be at the shuttle stop.
SGA informed the students of a project that should be implemented next year. This project will help students predict shuttle problems. This system will count students as they get on and off of the bus. This count will let students know how many seats are available on the shuttle.
In addition, the shuttles will have GPS tracking system installed to inform student of their real-time location. All of this information will be available to students online as well as at the shuttle stop. New shuttle stops will be created with this system so students can see on a screen where the shuttle is at all times.
One student in attendance, senior psychology major, Andrew Smith, was happy to hear the shuttle problems were being addressed.
“I haven’t ridden the shuttle in over a year because I got sick of (it) getting there late or being full when it got there,” Smith said. “Now that I can see where it is and how many seats are on it I will ride the shuttle more often.”
Another student voiced a complaint about the amount of traffic on West Campus Drive during the early morning and around 3 p.m., when traffic is at its worst.
SGA said a plan is already in motion to fix this problem. This plan will create an acceleration-deceleration lane on Highway 441, so the flow of traffic will not be affected by cars that are turning into The Village. Also, a turning lane will be placed on West Campus Drive for people who are turning right onto 441. This will make coming in and out of the Village easier, especially at times where traffic is at a peak.
“I think it is a great idea for the college to pursue this plan because traffic is such an issue at The Village,” Smith said.
Students living in Buildings 5 and 6 at The Village also brought up concerns of their keys not unlocking side doors in their buildings. The keys work on both main entrances but not on the other doors.
The students said that rather than walking around the building, they prop the doors open and un-prop them when they go back inside. However, some students don’t un-prop them and leave them where anyone can get in. The students said they would feel safer if they had access to unlocking these doors because then the doors wouldn’t be left open.
“It went really well, we had a lot of freshmen come out and talk to us about their problems,” said SGA senator Katie Dunn. “SGA will be taking those suggestions and working on them to better our campus.”
Posted by 
