By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
For the second week in a row, various issues affecting Fort Hays State University students were a focus of Thursday night’s Student Government Association meeting.
The conversation began during the open forum section of the meeting when Vice President Emma Day addressed a concern brought to her by a student earlier this week. The student noticed not all of the doors on campus open automatically when the button is pushed, either at all or not all of the time.
“This particular student is in a boot, on crutches and is carrying all of their stuff around and is just kind of struggling,” Day said.
The student told Day they have noticed the issue in the Memorial Union and Cunningham Hall. According to Sen. Logan Erichsen, the handicap accessible door on Tiger Village is another one that does not work and hasn’t for at least two and a half years.
Day’s plan is to check all of the doors when SGA goes on its annual safety walk Oct. 26. Vice President of Student Affairs Joey Linn, who was at the meeting as a guest speaker, noted he would look into the issue as well.
“That’s not acceptable,” he said.
Food insecurity throughout campus and the community was also discussed during the open forum. Sen. Audrey Rymer had a concern with Tiger Food Exchange, located in Room 138 of the Memorial Union.
“It was looking very empty this year, so I was wondering what the funding situation is compared to last year,” she said.
Last year, the university received an $80,000 federal grant that was used partially to stock the food exchange. That money is no longer available, as the university was required to spend it by June 1. However, according to Public Relations Director Aspen Patrick, this is not the only reason students might see more bare shelves.
“All of the food pantries around Hays are very bare,” she said. “There is a lot of food insecurity, so people are taking food – and funding, not only for us but also for the food pantries around Hays, has decreased.”
To address the issue, the Town & Gown Committee is working to host a dinner on Main Street to talk about food insecurity in the community and what initiatives can be implemented to combat it.
Several senators offered other ideas for additional funding, including utilizing grants offered by Alpha Gamma Delta’s national foundation and advocating for a grant similar to the one received last year.
Similar to several previous meetings this year, parking was another topic of discussion during the open forum. Specifically, staff parking spots that are not adequately marked. According to Sen. Noah Erichsen, several of his constituents have been ticketed for parking in staff spots, but the staff label was barely visible. Sen. Mickey Mason said he sees this issue specifically in the parking lot behind Malloy Hall.
Like the automatic doors, SGA will be looking at the labels on parking spots during the safety walk. Day also said she and President Ella Burrows will address the issue at the next Traffic Committee meeting.
The next SGA meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Black and Gold Room.