Brandon Carroll

I gave a Presentation today to University Council about the biggest issues that students are facing today. 
 
Four Main Issues



1. Official 24/7 study facility in Torgersen Hall on the first floor 


2. Bus with instantaneous GPS 


3. Intergroup dialogue for Area 6 Credit 


4. Restructuring governance & student organization & the fee process 



Issue 1: Official 24/7 Study Facility in Torgersen Hall


This issue is consistently one of the most important issues for students.

What are the problems caused by making opening Torgersen Hall 24/7 for studying?

1. Access Points 


2. Expensive equipment in Torgersen Hall 


3. How do you ensure students only stay on first floor 


What are the solutions to above problems?

1. Access Points 

• Make the only access point the door that is facing the Drillfield 

• Have a security guard posted in the building 


2. Expensive Equipment 

• Security guard can ensure students are contained 

• Cost of security guard (~$27,000), is much less than cost of equipment 


3. Ensuring students stay on first floor 

 Security guard can ensure students are contained 

• Proper signage directing students to authorized areas 


Note: Currently, Torgersen Hall already acts as an unofficial 24/7 study facility. Students prop the door open and there is no security guard patrolling the area. Also, there is 24/7 card access given to some researchers.


Costs to keep Torgersen Hall open 24/7 as a study facility

• Security Guard(s): ~$27,000 

• Wear and tear on furniture 

• Potential additional security equipment (cameras, alarms, etc.) 



Bottom line: An official 24/7 shows the Universityʼs commitment to students, and how important our collective voice is in terms of influencing policy.


Issue 2: Bus with Instantaneous GPS


More students are depending on the bus to get to and from class each year. Blacksburg Transit has struggled to keep up with demand and as such, buses are often late or pass stops because theyʼre full.


The Current Bus Fee: A non-refundable mandatory fee for all students in residence, bothgraduate and undergraduate, for support of the Blacksburg Transit System. This entitles all enrolled students to board Blacksburg Transit System buses by showing their student ID card instead of paying the fare. Costs $48/semester.


Because the majority of their funds come from student fees, we want the Blacksburg Transit to truly make a commitment to the student by bringing pertinent, real-time information to students via studentsʼ cell phones. One option is via Twitter (see attached).


Current situation:

• Blacksburg Transit has an internal GPS system, where their “hub” gets data on location of buses at all times 

• Majority of students live within a 2 mile radius from campus, and a lot of them drive in a Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) 

• Parking is a very big issue, and there are two ways to solve this: 
• Increase Supply 
• Decrease Demand 

• Virginia Tech made a commitment to Sustainability when they signed the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment (VTCAC) 

Solution to current problems:

• Scope out every possible bus and every possible stop 

• Make a twitter username for every bus 

 For example, Tomʼs Creek has 4+ busses, so there would be twitter.com/ tomscreeka1, twitter.com/tomscreeka2, etc.
• For each stop, take the internal data, build a system where it can update the twitter simultaneously
• Educate students about putting text message alerts on ..... Itʼs free. Itʼs innovative. 


 What are the issues of making this happen?

• Very difficult working with Blacksburg Transit on this 

• Find funds/work with a class to build this system 


Bottom line: By supporting a program that delivers live information on bus locations and system loads, Virginia Tech is demonstrating its commitment to innovative uses of technology to promote alternative and sustainable transportation.


Issue Three: Intergroup Dialogue for Area 6 Credit

An issue on Virginia Techʼs campus is this idea of inclusive excellence. people are discriminated against for things they have no control over (their color, sexual orientation, gender, et cetera)


Ernst & Young recruiter was asked what is the one thing that Virginia Tech needs to do better to prepare our students for the real world. Without even pausing, he said,

“They are not prepared for a global marketplace, and they donʼt have an understanding and appreciation for other cultures.”

What needs to be done to solve this problem?

• Work with the Office of Equity and Inclusion and Dr. Sanders to facilitate intergroup dialogue sessions

•  The by-product is inclusivity


• Itʼs important because the world is changing and transforming into a global marketplace 

• Simply promoting the Principles of Community is not enough. “Educating students” when they donʼt see a perceived value is not effective.
• 
If students could receive Area 6 credit to have conversations across cultures, I feel like Virginia Tech would move toward inclusive excellence. 

• University of Michigan has a great program at http://www.igr.umich.edu 



Issue   Four:   Restructuring   Governance   &   Student Organization and the Fee Process

Students do not have as much voice in the governance process.

Example: SGA represents 23,000+ undergraduate students, and we have a legislative branch that can write legislation on behalf of the students. However, all of the UCSOs can basically skip that process and bring it right to CSA.

The issue is that the student voice is not streamlined and official.

Suggested Solution:

SGA researches every possible way students give feedback to the University. The new governance organizations, UGOs and their legislative branches would have representatives from those committees (for instance the dining student advisory board) and when decisions were being made that affected all students, it would have an official student opinion on it. This way, the student voice is amplified.