Stone, James: President

The President of any university has many responsibilities. He or She is the face of the university and with that comes the power to make or break a school. If I were to become the President of Southern Arkansas University, I would make a few changes. However, some things that are already happening at SAU should be kept untouched. 

My first order of business as the President of SAU would be to increase the number of parking spaces. I have felt the crunch this year of the parking crisis at SAU. It has coined the phrase “move it and lose it” around the school. Many times students have decided how and when to leave campus based on the amount of parking spots available upon their return. I would try to make more parking available in and around campus, particularly next to the Rider Rink and the HKR building. The second thing I would do would be add more lighting along Farm Road. Currently, Farm Road is lit in certain areas while in others it is quite dark. A good thing about the lack of lights is that you can see the starry sky above you. That can be relaxing. However, the danger of many students walking along the nearly deserted Farm Road at night presents several safety issues. For example, there are several places along the road where strangers could lie in wait for passersby to rob or to sexually assault them. The added lights could prevent such dangers by increasing visibility. It would be a great safety improvement and would well serve the students of SAU. My final act as SAU President would be to have an exercise building open 24/7. Being a member of the Fit Club here, I have been working out since the beginning of the semester. Like many other students, I have been frustrated with the limited hours the HKR building is open. If it would be opened all the time, then students who have an unusual schedule or weird work hours could work out when it was convenient for them. Having the HKR building open all day would also give those students who make excuses about losing weight or getting fit less reason to avoid working out and getting in shape. 

Were I ever to become the president of Southern Arkansas University, I would want to do so much. I would add parking, add lights around the Farm Road, and open the HKR building for workouts all the time. With these changes, the school would be a little safer and a more accessible to the students. Maybe these changes could make a positive difference in somebody’s day.