Correction added.
Less than a month into the fall semester, ASU’s newly elected undergraduate student government presidents already have their hands full.
Top priorities of the Tempe, Downtown, Polytechnic and West campus leaders include overseeing plans for new recreation facilities and creating more equal services across the University.
“The goal is to have the same basic level of services no matter what campus you are on or where you are traveling to,” said Dominick Hernandez, Polytechnic campus student government president.
Facilities fee
Student leaders are currently finalizing plans for new recreation facilities on all four campuses. The 10-member facilities fee board, consisting of two appointed members from each student government, is still discussing the designs for the new recreation facilities, the presidents said. Cost estimates and start dates for the construction projects have yet to be determined, they said.
The Arizona Board of Regents passed the $75-per-semester facilities fee during the spring semester last year after four of the five student body governments approved the student proposal to build new facilities on every campus. Students will begin paying the fee when the amenities open.
The presidents have introduced new options for the facilities that may be included in the designs for the buildings if new funds become available through increased enrollment in the coming years, they said.
Weight lifting facilities, a kitchen and an amphitheater all located outside are options being considered at the West campus. An indoor track, increased administration rooms, a multi-sport court, added cardio and free weight space and larger multipurpose rooms are all possibilities for the Polytechnic campus.
The Tempe campus may add an additional indoor basketball court, indoor track and a rock wall. The Downtown campus is considering racquetball courts in addition to more multipurpose meeting space and expansion of the nearby YMCA.
These proposals are going to be considered based on the money available and are subject to change, said Jacob Goulding, president of the Undergraduate Student Government on the Tempe campus.
Student voting
Continuing efforts from last year, the student leaders will also focus on encouraging students to be informed voters.
“We want to make sure students get out there and vote for people who are going to best represent them on their issues, and hopefully one of those issues high on their list is higher education,” said Christian Vasquez, the Downtown campus president.
The undergraduate student governments have been registering students to vote before the fall semester started and they are working on introducing early voting locations on all campuses. Tempe’s early voting location at Palo Verde West, which opened in the spring of last year, will be open to voters between Oct. 11 and 29. The Downtown campus location is yet to be determined by the city of Phoenix.
The West and Polytechnic campus presidents are both working with their local city governments in order to open their own locations for students.
Daniel Hatch, the president of West campus, is working with the city of Phoenix and hopes to have a location approved by the end of the semester. Hernandez said the Polytechnic campus is trying to determine whether Gilbert or Mesa has jurisdiction over their voting location. He does not foresee a voting location being approved this year.
Transit
New transit options to provide for the different needs at all campuses are being considered, the presidents said.
Goulding is working on introducing guest parking passes for the friends and family of Tempe students to come and park for 24 hours at a time. However, it has not been determined how much those parking passes would cost, Goulding said.
James Baumer, chief of staff of USG Tempe, said the guest passes might be included with the purchase of a regular parking pass.
Hatch, of the West campus, and Hernandez, of the Polytechnic campus, said they have noticed the intercampus shuttles are crowded, and they plan to address the problem.
Hatch said the West campus might begin requiring passengers to show their student IDs to use the shuttles to ensure the service remains reserved for ASU students.
Hernandez said the Polytechnic campus student government is still collecting data to determine if a bus needs to be added during peak hours or later at night to better serve students.
Technology
In order to help students who do not take classes on the same campus, the presidents said they are going to start a new computer program that would allow students to get electronic signatures from their deans located on other campuses, the presidents said.
Some students who are a part of the W. P. Carey School of Business on the West campus must travel to Tempe for the dean’s approval to take heavier course loads, Hernandez said.
“We want to make sure we are providing an efficient way for students to get override signatures from their dean,” Goulding said.
Hernandez said ASU President Michael Crow approved of the idea during a meeting with the presidents last Tuesday.
Like many other projects, the specifics of this program haven’t been determined, they said.
“It’s going to be a yearlong priority,” Goulding said.
Textbooks
Holding down the cost of textbooks is also a priority, the presidents said.
They said they would like to hold the publishers accountable to the new state law that requires publishers to let professors know how much has been changed in new editions of the book.
The presidents also would like to get commitments from individual professors stating they will use the same textbook for three years. This would help ensure students could sell back their textbooks in at least some of their classes.
Library
The presidents from West, Polytechnic and Downtown are discussing options to keep study areas open during finals to better serve students. This would mirror the 24-hour service that Hayden Library offers to Tempe campus students, the presidents said.
The Downtown student government is considering paying for campus security guards by itself in order to extend the hours in the University Center library during finals week, Vasquez said.
Reach the reporter at mary.shinn@asu.edu
