By ALICIA FEYERHERM
Tiger Media Network
Students had the opportunity to ask different university leaders questions at the Student Government’s spring Open Forum on Wednesday.
Student Government President Ella Burrows, Director of Residential Life RJ Schnack, Senior Director of Strategy and Operations Dale Ano and University Chief of Police Terry Pierce were panelists for the event.
University maintenance was a prominent topic throughout the forum.
Schnack gave an update on the mold issues reported earlier this semester. A third-party crew has completed the cleaning of the vents. Moving forward, maintenance staff will continue those cleaning procedures. One concern of Schnack’s is finding the workforce to complete those tasks.
”Cleaning each and every vent for 15 minutes in McMindes alone takes about 300 hours,” Schnack said.
An audience member asked about the maintenance of AC systems in Victor E. She said she put in several work orders for her AC and even though the work orders were closed, her AC still does not work properly. Several other students in her section of Victor E. Village have experienced similar problems.
Schnack attributed this to parts shortages. The LG systems in Victor E. are under warranty until 2027, so replacement parts cannot be bought in bulk as they can be for older AC units. Backorders on parts lead to delayed repair times, but he is aware that the back D section of Victor E. needs maintenance.
Pierce discussed parking lot maintenance and said lines will be repainted this summer.
“The priorities are going to be the crosswalks first because that’s a safety issue,” Pierce said. “Next will be the stenciling on the curbs because it just causes a lot of confusion and those need to be visible and then we’ll start striping the lines.”
This year, in the Parking Committee, there were talks about painting Zone 1 and Zone 2 parking lots in different colors to make it easier for students to know where they are allowed to park. Pierce said that the different colors likely won’t happen.
“We’ll be doing good just to get the lines painted this summer,” Pierce said.
Pierce also said UPD is looking at ways to make the crosswalk by Hansen Hall and McMindes safer. He said cars have a hard time seeing other cars and pedestrians when turning because cars are parked on both sides of the street. To help with this, the first spot closest to the information kiosk on that corner will be blocked off.
“Nobody likes to lose parking, but at the same time, we don’t want anyone to get run over either,” Pierce said.
SGA plans to continue hosting open forums in future semesters.
“This is a great opportunity to connect with members of university leadership and get answers to any questions you may have,” Legislative Affairs Director Austin Ruff said.