Collegiate Times

The Commission on Student Affairs met yesterday afternoon to discuss campus concerns expressed at a student forum on Oct. 23.

Transportation issues, including parking, residential parking and parking fees, were the widely discussed.

“It was a good conversation and it was good to meet new students and hear their perspectives,” said Patty Perillo, vice president for student affairs.

On another note, CSA opened a discussion on Dining Services, specifically about receipts. Ted Faulkner, director of Dining Services, has been in contact with the commission to gain feedback on decreasing receipts, but still making sure students know the amount of money on their account after a purchase.

Michael Goodwin, president of the Jewish Student Union, suggested students be given the opportunity to opt out of receipts and implement a name recognition system. By doing this, students could chose not to receive receipts through their account and have the system recognize their Hokie Passport when swiped at dining halls.

No decisions were made on the topic.

Following talks on campus issues, Dustin Dorph, president of the SGA, presented two pieces of legislation.

Last year, the House and Senate in SGA passed legislation on increasing the use of evergreen plants around campus as well as increasing the number of electrical outlets on campus. 

The first resolution suggested the university plant more Evergreen trees in their landscaping. According to the legislation, the plants would be beneficial to the environment and improve the aesthetics on campus.

There are still edits to be made to the legislation, so it will have to be rewritten in SGA House and Senate. It will then be reintroduced to the CSA for further discussion and a possible vote.

The request of electrical outlet expansion would be a sizable charge for the university, according to Guy Sims, assistant vice president for student affairs. Squires, the Graduate Life Center and Johnston Student Center have added charging stations to temporarily satisfy student demands.

The resolution will be reviewed by SGA one more time and then possibly put to vote at CSA’s next meeting.

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A version of this article appeared in the Oct 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.