Last Tuesday, JJR, Inc. made their second visit to the Sam Houston campus to gather student opinion on the good, the bad and the ugly. Student reaction, in general, seems to be focused on the major inconviences and issues associated with the campus – namely the parking situation and dorms. The campus as it is certainly has it’s benefits. The compactness of the zones and the now-opened mall area make getting from class to class easier than at a larger campus. “As it stands, I think the campus was laid out with the student in mind. The buildings aren’t too far from each other, and getting to class is a breeze. I’m glad they were able to finish the Mall Area when they did – that helped a lot with my commute across campus,” Michael Mooney, junior, said. “I like how small the campus is – it is not to hard to get across. I say this because I can get from one side of the campus to the other in a matter of minutes.”A favorite complaint, as well as a valid one, is the difficulty of finding parking on campus. Faced with high numbers of students and a static number of commuter spaces, finding a space in time for class can be a frustrating experience. Although there is no easy answer to the problem, some offer simple solutions to at least alleviate the congestion. “While I feel there is much need for improvements in the way of seating in classes, availability of power for computers, even our network infrastructure, if I had to choose an immediate concern, it would be parking. Many universities have implemented measures such as: No freshman parking on campus and off campus parking lots. I would like to see Sam Houston work around banning freshman, although a re-allotment of the blue spaces seems well over due,” Brian Louden said. “If I could talk to the president of the university I would suggest that he look into lowering the price of the parking garage, or a commute bus perhaps,” Mooney said. As a commuter school, less of the population is concerned with the problems associated with on-campus housing. For the few living in the dorms, however, their upkeep and availability is a pressing issue.
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