Written by Carly Kester
The Harding University Student Association is looking for ways to improve campus this semester by planning events, taking surveys and providing service projects.
A big project the SA has been working on is attempting to negotiate with Aramark regarding the way they run the cafeteria. The SA is also working on improving relations with Aramark to discover ways the student body and Aramark can best work together.
The changes the SA wants to make involve finding a way to reduce congestion and help the lines move faster somehow, SA President Bryan Clifton said.
One problem they are trying to solve is what to do with all the wasted cafeteria meals students have left at the end of every semester.
“It’d be great if we could donate students’ leftover meals to needy families in White County who can’t always afford food,” Clifton said.
Another project the SA plans to develop is a survey for students to take in order to find out opinions, complaints and suggestions people have for Aramark. Clifton said he hopes the survey will help the SA better represent the interests of students.There will also be numerous service projects open for students to participate in.
Some future events the SA is working on include a dodgeball tournament based on the movie “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” Rake and Run, a day-long service project when students go around Searcy to rake leaves in people’s yards. Also in the works are a Polar Bear Plunge, an event where people jump into a pool cold water on the Front Lawn, and many smaller service projects throughout the semester, Clifton said.
The HUD Cup, a series of sporting events in which dorms compete with one another throughout the semester, is another activity the SA has organized.
The SA’s effort to help Christine Clemons is not over. In spite of the large number of Texas vs. the World T-shirts sold, the SA still has shirts coming in next week that students have ordered, according to Clifton.
“I have huge bags full of change that need to be rolled and have yet to be donated to the Clemonses,” said Clifton.
A common complaint the SA has received is that there are not enough parking spots for the increasing number of students every semester. Clifton said the complaint seems to be more prevalent than in years past.
“…all the rows are too close together so it’s hard to back out and easy to hit other cars,” senior Nathan Wilhelm said.
Clifton said any changes the SA will try to implement regarding parking will take a ltime to actually accomplish because there is a lot of negotiation that takes place.
A new feature that will be added this semester is an SA Web site. The site is up and running, and though its content is not completely full yet, it will include updates on service projects, future activities and places where students can leave comments for the SA. Students can visit the site at www.harding.edu/sa
