Collins, Aerriel: President

There are numerous changes that would be made on campus if I were the President of SAU. There is always room for improvement, and our small campus needs a few adjustments. Parking, security, and space are some areas in desperate need for improvement. Student organizations are poorly funded while others give an abundance of scholarships.

                  

The first thing I would do as president would be to increase the number of parking spots for the residences of Honors Hall, Talbot Hall, Green Hall, and Talley Hall. This would greatly decrease the number of tickets and reduce the students’ stress. Next, I would install more lighting around campus, and more security cameras in the parking lots. This would reduce crime on campus and raise the sense of safety by the students. Also, I would hire a dean for the Honors College. There is no sense in half-assing an Honors College. If a college is going to have residence halls set aside for its members, it should go the extra mile and hire a dean.

Another major change made would be to set aside a room solely for the cheerleaders in the MAC center.  The cheerleaders currently hold their practices across town in basically a shack with a tumble mat that’s too small for a competition routine. The cheer facility has no air conditioner, water fountains, or first aid stations. The Cheer Room in the MAT would be a great improvement. Cheerleading, as a sport, annually has as many injuries as any other sport. Therefore, it makes no sense for the squad to practice without trainers present. At least they wouldn’t be far if practices were in the MAC. In order to make funds for this, I would increase the restrictions on being a Mulerider cheerleader. This year, the two squads totaled over 50 cheerleaders with almost all receiving scholarship money. Instead, I would only give scholarships to those on the competition team. Anyone can wave pompoms on the sideline of a football or basketball game. Competition cheerleading is the genre that can accurately be described as a sport. The competition squad practices more hours, cheers for a longer period of time throughout the year, and must pay additional fees for travel and competitions. Therefore, these squad members need the extra scholarships more than do the noncompetitive cheerleaders.

Minor campus changes and major changes to the cheer program would be made if I were president of SAU. We would have a fully accredited Honors College, expanded parking lots, and more lighting put up around campus. SAU would take cheerleading a little more seriously, because the squads’ priorities would be in proper order. Also, the safety of the athletes would increase by the fact that they would practice closer to the trainers. There is always room for improvement, and our campus has a few areas that it needs to work on improving.