Letter to the editor

Solutions to campus problems

Our campus is growing, and with growth comes expansion and change. The most recent change to campus is the University Center, and its concept is wonderful. However, like many new systems, it has flaws that need attention. For example, bringing the entire campus population into one area, Riverside Commons, causes congestion.

I say give it a chance and be open-minded. Another way the facility could increase happiness among students is to get all the restaurant areas to offer a transfer for lunch, as well as dinner. Do the restaurants not get reimbursed for the transfers by the University? Why don’t they offer a transfer option? The excuse cannot possibly be money loss, can it?

If you take a campus that had at least two meal locations per side of campus, about five options total, and cut it down to one, problems may arise. I have heard a few stories of Riverside running out of menu items and either making something else or having students go elsewhere, which is ridiculous.

Some future changes being considered that my hall council discussed are as follows: building South Fork II, highly encouraging juniors and seniors to live in South Fork Suites or off campus, removing computer labs from the residence halls to increase room space, and turning Rodli into a 24-hour computer lab facility.

Hold on a second!

Ok. What’s the problem here, shortage of computers or shortage of space? The population of this campus is expanding, so instead of narrowing computer space down to two areas why not bulldoze Rodli and make another dorm? Then, we will have South Fork II and a new hall. Genius!

I don’t know if these alternatives would work, but they seem more practical then turning Rodli into a massive computer arena. Residents enjoy not having to leave their building to do simple assignments or print something off.

Encouraging the juniors and seniors to live in South Fork Suites is irrational and poorly thought out. I know people who cannot afford living in the Suites and if they move off campus, will lose some or all of their grants, scholarships, loans, etc.

Not everyone wants to walk from the boonies to go to class either, and if I lived there on a day like Monday, Feb. 5, I would have e-mailed my professors saying I couldn’t make it. It was too cold. Another problem in the future is parking space. Where is the next lot going to be built? I understand that a lot of this is going to come down to money. I just hope that people look at the bigger picture, speak their minds and come to a practical decision. Failure to do so could dissipate the growth of the campus population, because I know that I would more than likely relocate to a competing university and am confident that I am not alone. And please, correct me if I am speaking out of my tutus on any of this.

Alexandra Handlos
Student