NEWS
Armed with a whiteboard, $131.19 worth of pizza, and boxes of free, professional-looking FAU Student Government leather notebooks, SG conducted its final focus group meeting on April 20.
Nearly all the seats in the Student Union’s Palmetto Palm Room were filled as 39 students laid their complaints at the feet of Student Government House Speaker Boris Bastidas and other SG members.
Bastidas admitted to the attendees that, while SG can’t directly solve their complaints, they can talk to administrators about solving them.
“I can’t promise it’ll get done, but we can bring it up to the people who can get them done,” Bastidas said. “Maybe we don’t have funding now, but we can do something next year. So at least the problem is being fixed.”
According to Bastidas, there will be no more focus groups this semester, but they will start back up in the fall — on a monthly basis.
Below is a list of all complaints and suggestions students gave at the session, along with descriptions of each. Bastidas said that this summer, SG will discuss how to solve these problems — and others brought up in previous focus groups — with different parts of FAU administration.
ENFORCE BREEZEWAY SKATEBOARD BAN: As one student pointed out, bikes and skateboards regularly cruise through the Breezeway despite a ban passed on such activity last August.
LATER LIBRARY HOURS: Currently, the S.E. Wimberly Library closes at midnight Sundays to Thursdays, and 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Several students said they think it should be open later than that on a regular basis.
BETTER ADVISING: The quality of career and academic advice is lousy, said one student at the session. He recalled how he felt like his adviser was just trying to “get me out of there.” Bastidas suggested that the student consult the Career Development Center for career advice.
HAMMOCKS AND SWINGS AT SOCIAL SCIENCE BUILDING: Two students, smiles on their faces, suggested that there be “some places to sit” in areas around the Social Science Building. They said that they would like to see, among other types of seating, swings and hammocks. In her view, one student said, it would solve the problem of having to stand at the building if one wanted to stay there awhile.
ENFORCE LITTERING FINES: A student complained that cigarette butts and trash cover certain parts of campus, and FAU does nothing to stop it. Bastidas agreed and said SG would talk to those in charge of cleaning campus about it.
COVERING IN CASE OF RAIN: For several students who parked in the rain at one point, getting themselves and their classwork wet was a major concern. They suggested covering certain areas, like the Free Speech Lawn, or walkways. But, as SG House Representative Rebecca Capata pointed out, it would be a legal impossibility to cover both those sections in case fire trucks needed to access them. One suggestion, however, was a new service that could shuttle students around during the rain. Bastidas suggested the name “Rain Owls” — similar to the nighttime service, Night Owls.
LONGER NIGHT OWL HOURS: On the subject of longer Night Owl hours, Bastidas said SG would consider it, but warned that there may not be very much demand for the service past midnight, when the service currently ends. If that’s true, he said, the longer hours would be discontinued.
PINGPONG NETTING: There should be a net around the pingpong table area in the Student Union to prevent stray pingpong balls from getting out of the area and disrupting billiards games.
MORE RECYCLE BINS: According to Bastidas, SG recently received funding for more recycling bins in the Center Marketplace, but the university must first approve where they are placed.
NEW GAME ROOM: There used to be a room in the Student Union with arcade and console video games where a new barbershop will be. One student said that there should be a new room with video games.
MORE STUDY DAYS BEFORE FINALS WEEK: Currently, there is just one Reading Day — when students can participate in a study hall — before finals. Several students said they wanted more study hall days.
BETTER LANDSCAPING: One student suggested that grass could be better taken care of, as there are many brown spots, he said.
SPRINKLERS DON’T ALWAYS WORK: According to one student, some sprinklers don’t rotate properly, and end up spraying students on walkways instead of watering grass.
LONGER BREEZEWAY TABLE HOURS: Currently, according to Bastidas, FAU only permits tables to be set up in the Breezeway between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. One student said they wanted longer hours in order to reach more students.
MORE TRANSPARENCY OF CAMPUS SERVICES: Useful services, said one student, often go unused by students because students don’t know about them. Bastidas said that is a problem that Student Affairs must deal with, as they are in charge of advertising campus services.
MORE TEXTBOOKS: Several students agreed that there simply aren’t enough textbooks to go around for certain classes. One student recalled that they could not find any version of the “customized” textbook needed for their class.
LEAKY BREEZEWAY: When it rains, you can still feel it in the Breezeway, according to one student. Bastidas said that this was a problem SG would speak with Facilities Planning about.
