Letter grade: B+
While some promises like the InformVU text messaging system and an additional VandyVan didn’t come to fruition, improvements in every category of student life have either already been made or will be by the end of the semester.
During election season, Vanderbilt Student Government candidates always say they will do a lot of big things. But how often do those actually happen? We checked in with President Wyatt Smith and Vice President Lori Murphy to see how they’ve been keeping up with their promises.
Web site redesign
“We have a goal of making the organization more transparent first off, but also more responsive to student needs,” Smith said. As part of this initiative, VSG’s Web site was completely redesigned over the summer. Launched shortly before classes started, the new site includes an area that will focus on projects the organization is working, video messages from Smith and Murphy, RSS feeds to InsideVandy.com, links to VSG’s Twitter and Facebook pages and sections to streamline the application processes for both the Co-Sponsorship of the Month program and eventually AcFee.
Smith and Murphy had promised improvements to upperclass residential areas by updating the bathrooms, increasing access to kitchen areas and adding picnic tables. Now, Branscomb Quadrangle residents have 24-hour card access to kitchens. Ice machines are also now available on a trial basis in Branscomb and in Mims Hall in Kissam Quadrangle. Morgan/Lewis Houses and Carmichael Towers showers have increased water pressure and DVD players have been added to all campus common areas.
Student safety
To increase safety around campus, the team proposed having an area online where students could suggest areas that need additional lighting. Smith said they plan to have the option to submit on the VSG Web site before fall break. Murphy said once requests are submitted, VUPD will have to go to the proposed site and assess the need of additional lighting on their own. If the area is accepted, then more energy efficient and less costly LED lighting will be installed.
Non-emergency text messaging
A non-emergency version of AlertVU, Smith wanted to implement an InformVU notification system to send text messages to notify registered users about events like power outages. While Smith said it is “still a part of the conversation,” the system is ultimately run by VUPD, which was not willing to incorporate the new non-emergency system.
Additional VandyVan
Instead of adding an additional VandyVan, last year’s Commons route was turned into a reverse route with all the same stops except at Kissam Quadrangle. Instead, a Kissam stop was added to the direct route so three of the four vans still go to the area. VSG will continue to work with Plant Operations to post the different routes at the various stops around campus throughout the fall semester.
