Community affairs meeting addresses students’ questions

By Ryan, October 1, 2015

By Mayeesa Mitchell, Staff Writer//

On Aug. 27, High Point University’s Student Government Association (SGA) held their first Community Affairs Board (CAB) meeting of the 2015-2016 school year.
This meeting was open to the entire student body and gave them a chance to express concerns about a number of issues in the HPU community to administrators in multiple departments.
The administrators in attendance at this meeting included: Gail Tuttle, Senior Vice President for Student Life; Troy Thompson, Director of Campus Enhancement; and Jeff Adams, Vice President for Research and Planning.
Many of the students that attended expressed concern about the enforcement of occupancy limits in Greek Village houses.
According to the local fire department, only 100 people are allowed in a Greek Village house at one time.
Many brought up the problems this may cause for recruitment, bid day, mixers and chapter meetings, especially for organizations that have more 100 people in their chapter.
Tuttle suggested that Inter Fraternity Council and Panhellenic Council come together to create a calendar to manage the issue of securing space for social events and chapter meetings. Additionally, Tuttle suggested that Panhellenic Council make the decision to allow another sorority on campus so the numbers of incoming pledge classes are not as large.
Other students expressed concern about safety issues including the need for signage at the left turn lane now that there is an automated gate at the Aldridge Village and the possibility of traffic and people crossing between Centennial I and II at the same time.
Many also asked for clarification on construction details in new buildings including Cottrell Hall and the Centennial II Clubhouse.
According to Troy Thompson, students will have access to Cottrell Hall to study until midnight, and the Centennial II clubhouse will include a gym on the bottom floor with a learning commons area on the top floor.
Other suggestions were brought up as well, including selling ethnic hair products in the C-stores, parking specifically for commuter students, lowering the cost of meal plans for commuter students, adding seat covers to the toilets in Slane public bathrooms, and programming the door from The Grille at Aldridge Village to allow students to enter the pool deck without swiping their passports.
All of the suggestions have been taken into consideration and will be addressed in the near future.
The next Community Affairs Board meeting will be held on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.