SGA President Bethany Warlich gave a State of a Union Address on Nov. 16 to inform students about the status of university and Student Government Association (SGA) projects to improve NSU.
According to Warlich, a senior business administration major, NSU is planning new parking garages, athletic fields, a residence hall, several technology improvements and more food options. Warlich said she has been meeting with different NSU departments and offices throughout the past month to find out their plans for the future of NSU and its students.
“We know NSU is not perfect, but we are different,” Warlich said in her closing remarks. “We are different because we have tight relationships with administrators who are willing to come together to be one NSU. That is our advantage to fixing issues on campus.”
Construction
In her address, Warlich said that the new residence hall is in the consulting stage and business services is assessing the infrastructure. Parking garages, one built specifically for residential students near the residence halls, are in development. 36th Street is projected to be completed by Jan. 1, and NSU will build a new softball, baseball and multipurpose field along the street. Additionally, a new student lounge will open on Jan. 12 in the Student Affairs Building, room 105.
Food
Due to student’s concerns about food options, Warlich said there will be a cafeteria in the planned residence hall and that Outtakes and Chartwells is implementing a new grocery program. Through this program students will be able to submit a grocery list to Outtakes and Chartwells, who will pick up groceries from the supermarket for the students. Students will pay for these groceries with the declining balance on their SharkCard. Warlich also said that there will be new halal food options for Muslim students by Nov. 21.
Technology
Warlich said that SGA has been meeting with the Office of Innovation and Information Technology (OIIT) to discuss student concerns about lack of cellular service, inconsistent Wi-Fi connections and the iShark app. Warlich said that the office has a plan to address all concerns.
OIIT has also been working with Comcast to provide Xfinity on Campus to NSU students, which will increase the number of channels students have access to from 70 to 121 channels and allow them to stream some content on their phones. Additionally, the iShark app is being redesigned. Student and alumni emails will also change to a new domain name, “@mynsu.nova.edu,” on April 21, to distinguish between employees and students, according to Warlich.
Changes
Warlich also reviewed changes and new programs already implemented at NSU, like the 20 percent increase in student programming at the Office of Campus Life and Student Engagement, increased appointments and programming at the Office of Student Success, later Outtakes hours and the Fins Football program. Warlich said that the Fins Football program is the result of university administration’s response to student complaints about the lack of a football team at NSU.
Gabriella Lopez, senior English major and public relations director for SGA, said that the purpose of the SGA State of the Union Address is to let students know what’s going on at the university and that she hopes students will understand that SGA is there for them.
“We wanted to show everyone that we’re working hard and that this is what’s going to happen, so that students understand that we’re giving 100 percent effort and all we want to do is benefit them and improve the school in ways they think it needs improving,” she said.
Kayleigh Sabo, sophomore environmental science major, said she didn’t know that SGA was planning to host a State of the Union Address on Nov. 16, but attended. She said she’s excited about a new residence hall and the new grocery list initiative at Outtakes. She explained that she was surprised about the planned email change, but doesn’t think it’s a big deal.
Claudia Stevens, sophomore biology and sociology major, said she liked the State of the Union Address.
“I feel like a lot of students complain about things that they don’t really know are in the works and they don’t know that we’re actually doing something about them,” she said. “I like that we can come and hear about the new changes and what’s going on.”
Stevens said that she was happy to hear about the new residence hall, increased parking, new food options and the iShark app.
As for her concerns, Stevens said that she feels like NSU needs to do better with promoting what is going on at the university.
“All this stuff is happening, but the promotion isn’t really there,” she said.
Warlich said she hopes that those who heard the address understand the master plan that NSU has for students and see the benefits that the school is giving to the students.
“[The address] is definitely something that we need,” Warlich said. “Everyone needs to know what’s going on at this school. NSU has a lot of different departments that seem unconnected.”
According to Warlich, SGA will host another address next semester.
SGA’s State of the Union Address is available on the NSU Undergraduate Student Government Association Facebook page. For more information contact Warlich at bw726@nova.edu.
Credit: G. Lopez
Caption: SGA President Bethany Warlich discussed changes to NSU’s campus in SGA’s State of the Union address.
