Alexis Williams | Social Media Manager

Every college experience is different, and what makes it great for one individual could completely ruin it for another. With that being said, this is my list of feasible changes to the Buena Vista University campus and environment that I believe should be changed in coming academic years. These are in no particular order, but each item on this list could enhance our freedom as adults, the availability of awesome resources, and expand our classroom knowledge while in college.

Sidewalk Chalk Policy: Eliminate it. If you write with chalk, you clean up with water. No other restrictions.

Academic Attendance Policies: Students pay for their classes either way; if a student feels they can continue to be successful without attending classes, then so be it. It is their decision.

4-year Residency Policy: I would make it a 2-year residency policy, giving students the option to remain on campus. I believe many students would choose this, yet it would still open up the possibility for students to get their own place off campus if that is what they believe fit best.

Drinking game policy: Only enforce it if the games are being used to promote binge drinking; if people are of age playing “beer pong” with water and just socially drinking, I don’t think that should be punished. It’s a form of entertainment. Although, I know this would be difficult to regulate.

Pet Policy: I think we should open it up to not having dogs or cats on campus, but maybe smaller caged animals like bunnies, hedgehogs, or hamsters. Not saying I personally would want a pet, but if they do not make a lot of noise, I personally don’t see a problem. I mean, unless people can’t take care of their pets — that’s a different story. But again, we are adults. That freedom should be available if it does not come at an inconvenience to others.

ACES: Allow students to complete ACES over four years. I think the first year should be mandatory, but then the student can choose if they want to do it their sophomore year, or for two separate semesters in the remaining three years.

Meal Plans: Go to a beaver buck system so students have more options, maybe even partner with local businesses to have beaver bucks accepted elsewhere. See my previous article here.

Suites Trial: I believe that if we have on-campus residency requirements, we should have an area on campus that mirrors off-campus living as best we can. My idea is to make the suites more like apartments (not in the structure sense, but more with the regulations). This means there would only be a Resident Hall Director (RHD) in the suites, no Resident Assistants (RA), no rounds—if you’re bothering your neighbors, they call the appropriate person. However, this also means that police could be called and there could be serious consequences. I think this is a risk that students both need to be familiar with and need to have in order to understand the consequences of their actions. I don’t think a little fine and nothing on their record quite does the trick. However, this also eliminates unnecessary write-ups and paranoia. We should do a trial period first to see how students, staff, and the community responds.

Outdoor Recreation House: Create a key-card entry like dorms. I can’t count the amount of times that I’ve just wanted to go for a bike ride but there is no one there. If these items are made to be available, make them available. If I want to take a bike ride after dinner, I think that should still be an option. A valid system for checking items out would need to be put in place, but I think that it is a conversation that could happen.

Additions:
-More professionals on campus: While Career Connect is wonderful, I would love it if my professors brought in professionals to speak about certain topics that related to class content. My professor Jamii Claiborne does an excellent job of this, and I would love to see more professors do this. Those are the days that I learn the most.

-More funding for programming: I think there should be an on-campus movie in Anderson every Friday and Saturday. This costs about $750 each time. So allocate funds to make this possible for our students. I also think that students would love to have more free bowling nights and additional events which, by increasing the budget, solves the problem of “having nothing to do” on campus. {What I would really want is a student union—bowling, movie theater, black box, and study space… can you say Swope renovation?!)

-More internship partnerships: While career services and advisors help us find internships, it would be very beneficial if BVU had more partnerships with organizations and corporations for students to get guaranteed hands-on experiences. For example, it would be awesome if we had a connection with King’s Pointe where students could be selected or nominated to shadow the professionals there—especially since we do not offer hospitality management.

Overall, the changes I would make are pretty manageable in my opinion, and all are in the best interest of students; at least in my eyes. While all of these changes may require a larger conversation and discussion on how it could be possible, I think these are conversations that need to be had. I also believe these changes reflect why some students are unhappy on campus, and I would hope that these changes could enhance the experience for many students and potentially draw more students to campus.

Graphic by Justice Gage