Gum will soon be making its way back onto campus stores’ shelves.

At the Open President’s Forum last Tuesday students asked President Eric Gilbertson why it is never available to purchase.

Gilbertson said the rule was set in hopes of keeping the campus clean, as some individuals tend to dispose of gum by sticking it on university property or spitting it on the ground.
However, after some discussion, attendees decided that since the campus community can bring gum from off campus, it’s not clear if the rule is effective.

Gilbertson decided to reintroduce it to campus on a trial basis.

Dean of Students Merry Jo Brandimore said bringing back gum will most likely be well received by the campus community.

“I think it’s going to be exciting for students,” Brandimore said. “That’s been a long time standardized rule.”

Gilbertson was pleased to make this change for students, but another issue brought up was not as easily fixable.

First Year Board representatives discussed the possibility of creating a common area for the First Year Suites.

The representatives said the issue keeps coming to the surface among residents of the First Year Suites. They feel it is only fair to have access to a gathering area similar to the lobbies and study lounges in the living centers.

“We don’t have a space to bring us all together like they do,” said Kyle Herron, criminal justice freshman and part of the First Year Board general assembly.

Although President Gilbertson sympathized with freshmen, he said there is little that can be done based on how the buildings were constructed in the 1970s.

“We’d rather they were designed otherwise, [but] they weren’t bad decisions at the time they were made,” Gilbertson said.

The campus was not nearly the size it is today back when the First Year Suites were built, which is why they look out of place compared to the rest of campus housing.

Gilbertson said their location has helped other buildings to be designed better and will continue to do so in the future.

He said he hopes freshmen will take advantage of the proximity of the Doan building to their dorms. He said the student center and wedge lounges were constructed primarily for use by First Year Suites residents.

Another issue resolved was putting a system in place to keep the weight room’s dumbbells in order according to weight to make them easier for students to use.

The malware block Internet policy was touched upon briefly. Gilbertson said glitches are still being worked out.

Gilbertson ended the forum with encouraging words to students as the semester nears its end.

“This is a stressful time of year,” Gilbertson said. “Look out for yourself and take care of others.”