Construction continues on Founder’s Hall, one of several projects underway on campus. Began in June 2012, completion of the student living quarters is scheduled for August 2013. (Photo by McKenna Gallagher)

The UA has plans to establish more student housing to compete with its rapid increases in student population.

From 2000 to 2011, the UA’s enrollment increased almost 4 percent annually, from 15,346 to 23,199. This growth is expected to continue, reaching 28,091 students by 2015, according to the UA Housing Master Plan.

To compete with the student population, the UA planning team worked with a steering committee consisting of UA staff and students to evaluate potential sites for student housing.  The evaluation began in December 2011 and concluded in September 2012.

The evaluation resulted in a plan that defines two areas for expansion of student housing, according to the housing plan. The two areas are the green space south of Maple Hill and east of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing and the area south of Pomfret Hall along Virginia Avenue.

The UA plans to finish the construction of these two projects by 2015. With current designs, these new buildings will house around 1,500 students.

To match this growth in student housing, the UA will establish parking spots to meet 75 percent of the number of additional beds, according to the housing plan.

The steering committee removed any site from consideration where demolition of parking was required, according to the housing plan.

The housing plan outlines a four-phase, eight-year plan between 2012 and 2020 to increase student housing. The UA plan will focus primarily on accommodating sophomores but also provides for upper-year undergraduate students.

Currently, the UA has plans to establish around 850 parking spots in the area east of Bud Walton Arena, according to the housing plan. That number will likely increase once the UA determines future needs.

RIC voted for new officers last week. Onnissia Harries remains as president, while three new officers were elected. Elizabeth Reynolds was sworn in as vice president, Cody Rader was sworn in as secretary-treasurer and Katherine Petit was sworn in as programs director.

Cabinet confirmation involved the swearing in of Shantell Mathis as director of leadership development, Rachel Knight as national communications coordinator, Adrian Ordorica as director of advertising and public relations and Lauren Hake as director of sustainability.

The three bills proposed last week included allocating funds to purchase new sound equipment, funds to assist with the People Respecting Individual Differences and Equality (PRIDE) talent show and funds to assist Holcombe Hall purchase a pool table.

The bill to allocate funds to purchase new sound equipment passed. This will give $1,413 for the purchase of speaker cables, a soundboard, microphones and miscellaneous items.

“We only own two microphones, which have proved not sufficient to the needs of the university community, and while we own enough speaker cords for all the speakers, many of them are very short, fairly old and newer and longer cords would be much more useful and practical,” according to the bill.

The bill to allocate funds to assist with the PRIDE talent show passed. This will provide $800 for food, drinks and advertising for the event.

“The goal of this event is to provide a safe and encouraging environment for any student to share what they love doing with other students, faculty and staff, include playing music, reading poetry, exhibiting art, etc. and through this, we hope to build confidence in these students as well as to provide the chance to forge a network of supportive and open-minded individuals,” according to the bill.

The final bill to assist Holcombe Hall in the purchase of a pool table passed. This would have allocated to  give the hall $200 for the purchase.

This purchase will make “an investment in the hall’s appeal,” according to the bill.

Next week, RIC will vote on a resolution to create a constitutional convention.

“We are so happy this was contentious, because it means we will work from many angles to move our campus forward,” said Sen. Joe Kieklak, author of the bill.

ASG senators are working with the Gender Neutral Housing Committee to create a detailed application process for students who want to use this option, Kieklak said. This will prevent students from abusing the system, Kieklak said.

ASG passed a bill Tuesday night to provide the funds needed to become members of the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students.

This is a “network that connects graduate and professional students across America so they may share resources and best practices” with the ultimate goal of helping member organizations “amplify students’ voices to campus, state, and federal policymakers,” according the group’s workshop.

The bill was authored by Sens. Alex Marino and Grant Addison and ensures that ASG Senate will pay a $250 registration fee to become a NAGPS member for the remainder of this year.

This association lobbies for education and professional development and holds regional and national conferences, said Sen. Alex Marino, co-author of the bill.

“It is important for ASG to go to these conferences in order to learn how things are done at other schools and allow others schools to see how we do things here,” Marino said.

Unlike the SEC Exchange, NAGPS will allow participation of graduate students as well, Marino said.

ASG also passed a bill to support the purchase of thicker toilet paper for UA restrooms.

Sens. Will Simpson and Will Hansen authored the bill in support of the “investment to find a more durable and efficient tissue for university restrooms,” according to the bill.

In addition, ASG postponed voting on the bill proposed last week to allow a system of GPA forgiveness for students suffering from clinical depression.

The authors said they plan to talk with administrators during the upcoming week and gather further support and evidence for the necessity of this bill.

The bill, authored by Sens. Hayley Noga, Joe Kieklak and Ellen Rudolph, proposes that administration allow students suffering from depression to count up to two academic years at the UA like transfer credit that will not affect GPA.

“This bill represents exactly what ASG is here to do, which is to make students better enjoy their UA experience,” said Sen. Ellen Rudolph. “We are open to hear senators’ opinions during debate and want to work as much as we can to represent the students on our campus that are struggling with balancing aches of depression and managing school work.”

Other proposals from Tuesday include a bill to pay for a “Blue Light app” as an emergency alert system and a resolution to implement Razorbucks at sporting events.

On Monday night, RIC discussed the potential of gender-neutral housing on campus. This would create a specified number of rooms to be deemed gender-neutral, meaning that gender could not be a factor when assigning residence hall roommates.

Since the proposal has passed through RIC, it will now go to ASG. The date that ASG will review and vote on the proposal is not known.

“If they say yes, then the Gender-Neutral Housing Work Group, which is composed of members of RIC and ASG, will craft (a) proposal and present it to housing and administration,” said RIC President Onnissia Harries.

Whether gender-neutral housing will be available to future UA students is unknown, but the crucial first step has been taken.

Gender-neutral housing generally refers to a hall, wing or residence hall where gender is a non-factor in determining room assignments. The purpose is to make transgender students and those who may not be comfortable with living with someone of the same sex more comfortable.

Issues concerning LGBT students are not new for universities. The story of Tyler Clementi’s suicide is widespread and has been seen as a warning story for gay students in traditional housing.

Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, committed suicide in September 2010 after his roommate filmed Clementi kissing another man. His roommate threatened to show the film to other students, which provoked Clementi to jump off of the George Washington Bridge.

Around 64 percent of LGBT students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and 41 percent felt unsafe because of how they expressed their gender, according to the 2005 National School Climate Survey. While gender-neutral housing cannot eradicate all instances of harassment, it can give students a room where they feel safe.

The movement toward gender-neutral housing has followed a similar path as co-ed housing. Dykstra Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles was the first to adopt co-ed rooming in 1960, according to toe UCLA Office of Residential Life. Many liberal colleges, including Radcliffe and Cornell, followed suit approximately 10 years later. Fifty-three years later, most colleges in the United States have co-ed options.

In the early 2000s, the gender-neutral housing movement started. Oberlin College was the first to implement it, according to the school website. After around 10 years, other colleges began following suit.

Gender-neutral housing is prevalent in many private colleges, including Ivy League schools like Harvard, Brown and Dartmouth. However, there are a handful of public universities that are offering the option as well.

The University of Michigan offers a variety of gender-neutral services that extend far beyond housing. There are both a large number of housing options and a list of restrooms available online that are gender-neutral. The university is one of the few public universities that offers these options.

High school student Chloe Moffett has been looking into campuses with gender-neutral tendencies.

“I already get bullied enough because I have short hair and people either assume I’m a lesbian or identify as male. Neither are true,” Moffett said. “I don’t really care who I end up living with as long as they respect me. I think a gender-neutral living situation would be better for me because of that.”

The trend is pointing toward gender-neutral housing becoming commonplace, but it appears to be a long process that will be met with much criticism. Whether the UA will ever adopt these policies is unknown.

The UA Resident Interhall Congress has begun discussing gender-neutral housing option for UA students.

Approximately 330 applicants for resident assistants have gone through three rounds of the application process for the positions. At the same time, current resident assistants who wished to return to their old posts had to go through a process of their own.

“There is no guarantee that they will be hired back,” said Grant Carlson, assistant director of resident education. “Returning RAs go through a separate application process, then we assess how many open positions we have and go through new applicants.”

Carlson estimates that 90 new positions will open, which is greater than in recent years due to the reopening of Hotz Hall and the building of Founders Hall.

To apply for those positions, applicants must go through a lengthy process. vvember with an initial application that includes a welcome letter. The welcome letter is for the applicants to show an example of what they would give to their residents as they’re moving in. After this, there is a group interview to see how they interact with others and function during activities. Finally, there is a one-on-one interview.

Once the offers are made and all resident assistant positions are filled, the newly employed have four meetings to attend during the spring and a training week during August. Ongoing monthly meetings are held once the school year begins.

Placement of resident assistants is determined in many ways. If a residence hall has a specific focus, such as Greek life or the arts, then a resident assistant who fits the bill could be placed there. Personal preference is also taken into account.

Each resident assistant has to put in an equivalent to a 20-hour work week. While only four hours of the week are spent at the front desk, resident assistants have to create a sense of community in the dorm. They’re in charge of arranging parties, talking to residents and relaying messages that their residents need to know.

However, with hard work comes perks. Resident assistants are provided a room, although not necessarily private, and a 15-Meal Plan Plus free of charge. They also receive the standard 10 percent staff discount that all employees of the UA receive. Resident assistants still have to pay for parking, but they’re given priority for resident reserve.

Putting in those hours will end up saving all resident assistants an average of $8,178 for the academic year. The total comes out even higher should the resident assistant end up in a single room at a more expensive residence hall, according to the UA Housing website.

There is a general consensus from former and current resident assistants that the job is well worth it, with many reapplying for the job every year.

“We restart the process next November,” Carlson said. “We encourage all who were unsure before to apply next year.”

The RIC senate had the ability to override the veto, with a two-thirds majority, but the motion failed.

Onnissia Harries, RIC president, officially vetoed the resolution Jan. 30, two days after the initial approval.

“I did what I had to do for my organization to reconsider, but our goal is to essentially be the voice of the on-campus student, and we want to voice that as appropriately as possible,” Harries said. “I feel like senate spoke tonight, and they did what they had to do, and I’m proud of them for it.”

Harries did not veto the resolution for personal reasons, she said, but because of the lack of discourse during the resolution proposal.

The resolution affects the entire campus: including students, faculty and staff. Harries said it was irresponsible to pass a bill without consulting those affected.

There are several other reasons Harries chose to veto the resolution, she said.

The resolution included an “unclear” definition of what a university building is, Harries said. After consultation with residence hall officials, the definition would include housing, allowing faculty and staff to carry within residence halls, which affects the safety of residence assistants, housing officials and others working and residing on campus, Harries said.

Harries was concerned about other schools nearby, she said. Public primary and secondary schools are gun-free zones, and weapons are not allowed within 1,000 feet of those schools; however, there are two schools, Leverett Elementary and Fayetteville High School, within this range. It would be irresponsible not to consider these schools when reviewing the bill, Harries said.

Insurance costs and liability were also a concern for Harries, she said, however she is unsure of the financial state at the UA.

This bill would be ultimately giving a blank check to Charlie Collins, proponent of the bill, who would have the ability to amend the bill as he pleases, Harries said.

Harries said she thought the debate should not have ended prematurely last week.

Joe Youngblood, RIC senator and author of the bill, asked why he was not consulted because there were issues in the bill that could have been addressed in a meeting between him and the president.

“It’s a manufactured attempt at establishing reasons for a purely political and a purely personal reason,” Youngblood said.

The decision not to consult Youngblood was at the accord of the president, said Jordan Luttrell-Freeman, president pro-tempore in response to Youngblood’s question.

Previously, students had to take the time to fill out surveys at the locations they were eating. This electronic format will replace the old fashioned, paper-scantron system, said Kim Johnson, marketing director for Chartwells.

Every semester customer surveys are made available for students and faculty to fill out and provide Chartwells with feedback on their services, Johnson said. These surveys provide a pulse check for what students like and what they would like to see improved in the dining halls and other Chartwells locations on campus, Johnson said.

After students fill out an online survey, they receive a coupon for one free hot or cold beverage and also automatically have their name entered in a drawing to win a Chartwells giftcard, Johnson said.

In the past, this feedback has helped Chartwells get an idea of what foods served in the dining halls are most popular with students.

Some students said that in the past they would love to see more Thai and Asian food in the dining halls. This one reason Chartwells has started serving more of this type of food at Brough especially, Johnson said.

“I like that these surveys are available for us to give our input, instead of the university having to guess what students want on the menu,” said Nick Sergent, sophomore mechanical engineering major.

Students can also fill out comment cards year-round concerning the customer service they receive at the dining halls. YouFirst is a program dining services have put into place in order to encourage more customer-manager communication, Johnson said.

YouFirst is meant to drive a swing in morale among the associates and also to help them understand the power of good customer service, Johnson said.

This program awards associates who have provided exceptionally good customer service with a metal and a gift card, Johnson said.

Just as it is more fun to eat in a place with good customer service, it is equally as fun to work in a place with positive customer interaction, Johnson said.

“It definitely makes a huge difference and I always remember it when someone has particularly good customer service,” said Kara Kaiser, sophomore speech pathology major. “The thing that really sets a place apart is not always the food, but sometimes just the people who work there.”

The NW Quads dining hall will be closed today for lunch due to a sprinkler malfunction, said Kim Johnson, marketing director for Chartwells.

A false fire alarm went off in the Quads, setting off the sprinkler system as well. Students are being directed to please eat at one of the other dining halls or food retails services on campus, until the area can be cleared by inspection, Johnson said.

The situation is being taken care of and the dining hall will be reopened as soon as possible, Johnson said.

In a change of policy from years past, all UA residence halls will remain open from Nov. 21 through Nov. 23 so students can stay in town instead of moving during the holiday.

“My freshman year, I lived in Pomfret and I was forced to move out for all three breaks,” said Kristie Flournoy, a senior UA student.

Flournoy, who is not from the area, asked a friend if she could stay with her family during the break, she said.

“It was very awkward, considering that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a family time, and I felt like I was intruding,” Flournoy said.

Flournoy didn’t have the Thanksgiving break she expected, so she said she is pleased with the policy changes.

International students are a group strongly affected by residence halls staying open.

“I think residence halls being opened during Thanksgiving break is a good idea since there are international students attending the university,” said Raisa Charles, a junior international student from the West Indies. “Americans, they can afford to go home for every break. Some do not even leave to go back home for their whole tenure at the university and they have the hassle of looking for a place to stay when the residence halls decide to close.”

With the new guidelines, a housing security official said he doesn’t think there will be any problems.

“I do not see the extended opening to be a significant security issue,” said Reggie Houser, assistant director of logistics and risk management with University Housing. “It is, however, a rather significant challenge to our residential education staff.”

Dining hall hours during the break will be announced later, according to the housing website.

University Housing offices will be open Nov. 21, but will close Thanksgiving day and Friday, according to the housing website. Residence Hall desk hours will be limited to noon to 4 p.m., Nov. 22 and 23.