The Student Association Executive Board addressed students’ comments and concerns about the SA and Binghamton University in an open forum held Thursday.
The Executive Board, including SA President Adam Amit and Assembly Chair Elahd Bar-Shai, responded to the concerns of the 10 or so students who attended. In response to student questions, they addressed the parking and traffic situation on campus and new policies for how student groups can use their earned money, among other issues.
Tom Russo, a junior majoring in biological sciences, expressed discontent with traffic near the West Gym during weekday mornings and the closing of the “salamander road” (known as the Connector Road) near the Nature Preserve.
According to Bar-Shai, the road is closed because it cannot be plowed due to the “hills” of pavement on each side of the road, which help the salamanders get over the curb into the Nature Preserve.
Amit said the administration informed him that traffic will increase across the Brain when Dickinson Community reconstruction starts.
“They’re going to be looking at, within the next five years, redefining the ways cars can come to campus,” he said. “When classes are in between [sessions], if you’re trying to get down the Brain, it’s almost impossible since you are waiting for students at every crosswalk.”
Bar-Shai discussed plans for a car-sharing program that would enable students to rent cars on an hourly basis.
“There are 2,500 freshmen on campus that are not allowed to own cars, so that would appeal to them,” he said. Bar-Shai plans to meet with the administration this week to sign a contract between possible companies that would provide the car rental service, and hopes to have the program in place by early February. The number of cars available would depend on the contract they agree upon.
Amit said that administration was open to the idea of paving the Mountainview dirt path after he met with them and presented a petition where 90 percent of Mountainview students said they wanted the dirt path paved. Mountainview College Council and Assembly representatives went around the Mountainview buildings and dining halls to gather signatures for the petition.
“What we’re aiming for is to get that path paved by the end of [next] semester,” he said. “Initially, that path was supposed to be paved about five years from now.”
Vice President for Finance Matt Allwood said student groups have obtained more freedom for spending the funds they have raised on their own.
“Now it’s basically the vice president of finance has to allow an expenditure as long as it doesn’t break any laws,” he said.
However, student groups still cannot used the money to buy alcohol, tobacco or personal items.
According to Amit, the VPF was formerly able to exercise a far greater degree of discretion over expenditures made with money earned through fundraising.
One of the most common student criticisms expressed in the SA’s recent survey of student opinion was the high price of Sodexo coffee, Bar-Shai said.
In response, the SA is trying to increase awareness of the Food Co-op and Fine Arts Commons Cafe, which sell coffee for 80 cents.
“We’re trying to push them to advertise their cheap coffee because students like a nice buzz and focus during finals week,” Bar-Shai said.
Students also voiced mixed reactions to last week’s two-hour all-you-can-eat buffet in the Appalachian Dining Hall.
“It’s like they were going cheap,” one student said. “A lot of stuff was missing.”
Amit said he took full credit for the situation.
“This was an attempt to see if tray-less dining halls would work,” he said, explaining that it was a test run for greener dining hall operations, where water could be conserved instead of being used to wash dishes.
“I didn’t know about the lack of variety or different types of foods,” he said.
According to Amit, the SA E-Board will be working through next semester to put many of the topics discussed into action.