Commuter representatives are seeking to make various changes to student life, including a new parking permit and meal prices for commuter students, to make increased accessibility.
The Student Government Association (SGA) has been meeting throughout the semester to discuss the issues facing students. Commuter representatives, freshman Puria Rahbarnia and junior Lexie Johnson, have been gathering opinions about the campus that can be improved upon.
These concerns have been brought to an executive committee, which decides which issues to fix this coming semester, according to Johnson.
Rahbarnia currently works with a group of representatives to create a new parking permit plan for commuter students.
One of the biggest changes coming to student life is the new student center, a place for students to eat, study, and hangout. With its opening next semester, representatives are already seeking ways to make it cheaper for commuter students.
Due to the fact that commuters are more likely to buy individual items instead of purchasing entire meal plans for the semester, representatives are seeking ways for food in the center’s cafeteria to be more accessible to commuter students.
“We are hoping to the new cafeteria will allow commuter students to buy individual items, instead of a whole meal plan. For example, if a student wants to just buy a bag of chips [at the new caf], they will be able to just purchase that one item,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, SGA is trying to expand the availability of food for commuter students to purchase.
Another change that is coming to commuter life on campus is the Forest Room no longer being available to commuters.
“The Forest Room is a place where commuters can relax. Because these students can not go back to a dorm room, the forest room is necessary for commuters,” Rahbarnia said.
The Forest Room will most likely be transformed into something different because of the new student center. According to Rahbarnia, the administration will use the building for storage once the student center is built.
However, based on interactions with commuter students, many would like to see the Forest Room stay as is, according to Rahbarnia, because of anticipated crowds within the student center.
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