President Donald Bachand hosted an open forum Wednesday, Jan. 27.
The event was open to all students and reoccurs periodically throughout the year. Students are able to present their concerns to the University president in a public setting.
“That’s why we have meetings like this, for the issues we might not hear about,” Bachand said. “That way, even if there isn’t a formal complaint, we can still address it.”
Several matters were brought to Bachand’s attention at the forum.
The first addressed was that of sponsored events. Students organizing a Special Olympics event at SVSU were interested in garnering more sponsorship from the school.
These students argued that with the crowd this event draws in, both volunteers and participants, the school itself should be sponsoring it, not just the organizations on campus.
Bachand was open to greater school sponsorship beyond location, but only in the situation that the space for the event were unable to meet the organization’s needs.
The next matter addressed was that of ice administration at the Ryder Center.
Currently, those who work at the Ryder’s front desk are unable to give students ice because it is a form of medical treatment, which requires special certification.
However, if a student rolls an ankle, strains a muscle or suffers a similar injury that could easily be treated with ice, students argued that the front desk should be able to provide ice for that injury.
Many solutions were offered: students suggested that trainers work during intramural games, that those who work at the desk undergo extra training, or that an ice machine be installed so that students be able to administer it themselves, removing the issue.
This last solution was found to be the most favorable and was noted for further review.
Next, students brought forth the issue of insufficient restrooms at sporting events in the fall. During the fall, only five port-a-johns were provided for sporting events and, being too impatient to wait through the lines, people were inclined to do their business in the woods.
This was an issue that the university was unaware of and astounded to discover. The number of restroom facilities for outdoor sporting events in the future will be reviewed to ensure this problem does not continue.
The final complaint that was addressed to Bachand was that of limited security. Several students have had their windshields shatter. However, security cameras only point in certain directions with limited ranges, making it impossible to identify if these damaged windshields are the result of the low temperatures or vandalism.
Students were perturbed by this, and asked that security be increased. Bachand said the matter of increased security had been brought to attention for various reasons, but that no matter how much security is implemented, there will always be complications.
Video feeds could be blurry, there may be blind spots, there cannot be people watching the feeds at all times, and even with the benefits the extra security would provide, it would still be costly.
President Bachand said an inquiry would be made into the necessity of increased security.
The forum concluded amiably, students pleased that the president was taking their ideas into consideration. more birthdays.”
Planning for this year’s event began at the end of last years event, and it involves a lot of work and planning.
There is still time for teams and participants to sign up. If interested in signing up, visit relayforlife.org/svsumi.
