Hultberg, Joshua: President

Many people think of all the problems they encounter on a day to day basis and say to themselves something along the lines of, “well, if I were president, I would (insert action here).“ Most people fail to realize there is a difference between wanting to do something and having the means to do so. Most projects are limited by money, or lack thereof. As far as this university is concerned, there are only minor changes I would make if I were in charge.

First, I would pave the parking lots on the east side of campus. These parking lots have been either worn down or never paved at all. They are riddled with bumps and holes, and their lines have become faded and practically nonexistent. The police force seems to be the only ones to know where these invisible lines are, for they plaster countless windshields with pink tickets for parking over them. Along with that, the current space does not meet demand for the growing number of students. To make things harder, several dozen spots have been absorbed to make room for projects and to house construction equipment, making students quite unhappy in the process.

Second, I would make extended hours for the Mulerider Cafeteria. Now, while having a full cafeteria open later would cost a sizeable amount of money, I would plan to have a small consolidated version open from nine to midnight and would provide snacks or small meal items like pizza. At that time only one line and a small portion of the seating area would be open allowing those with odd schedules a chance to eat without having to go into town to find food. This would be a relatively low cost solution to the frequent problem of students walking over to Reynolds to find that the cafeteria is closed already.

Third, I would try to improve the variety of classes offered on campus. While the current spread is good I would be constantly looking for new classes to broaden student’s educational horizons. I would also like to see elective vocational courses become available in areas such as metal, electronics, and automotive. While this isn’t a technical college, it is good to offer courses that get off the path of just “brain smarts” and to have a little experience in hands on work. It would also help to develop majors and certification courses in these fields to attract a larger base of students to SAU.

Fourth, I would do a few little things such as improving the Internet. While the Internet available is better than it was several years ago, there is still not enough equipment to meet demand. While the Library and Reynolds house the necessary equipment, the dorms and outlying buildings do not have enough equipment to keep up with the number of students. Having one little router among a building with hundreds of students is not going to cut it. It is difficult working on projects and homework on Blackboard when the pages take time to load. I would plan on spending a relatively small amount of money to upgrade each building‘s equipment so that it may host more students without getting weighted down.

Last, I would have the physical plant add a little curve to the top of the water tower during the Festival of Lights. Then it would look like a candle, instead of a pencil.