Students met for President’s Hour to ask questions of President Charles Patterson, Director of Facilities management Matthew Dominick, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Lorie Sheetz, SU Chief of Police Patrick Taylor, and Dining General Manager William Anderson at Orndorff Theater on April 6 at 7 p.m. 

The initial question asked was “what is one thing to magically change on campus?” Sheetz said she would first focus on making the resident hall floors more level, as they are uneven in places, and it is a change she wants to make as soon as possible. 

Taylor said he would like to initiate hotel-style entry to the resident halls that would give access to students by using their phones.

Patterson said that renovations are on his agenda, with Stewart Hall previously and now Kreiner closer to completion. One more building will be pursued on that side of campus. Patterson noted university’s money has not been used to get the work done, but rather the work has been done through federal and state grants. The new space to be updated cannot be shared at this time.

One student asked about the two chargers for electric vehicles on campus, and if they will be getting more chargers. 

Dominick, who drives an EV, said they look at monthly usage. The cost of new chargers is a high up-front cost. They may install more in the future, but first, they are going to look into the optimal location for where they would put the new one when able. 

As far as time spent by individuals at the charging station, Taylor said he has learned more about enforcement when working with chargers in the last year to a substantial extent. If someone has been there too long, the IT department can now look at how fast charging should be completed, and tickets are issued if the vehicle is fully charged and has not been moved. 

The means by which the university has made updates to address safety concerns and improve safety in educational buildings was spoken about at length by the panel. 

Patterson said, “He does everything possible to ensure safety every day, but safety is something that you feel. And I can say that our campus is a very safe place.”

Patterson said they are always looking into different resiliencies that can be built into the infrastructure as new construction is being done. Renovations and new construction that install new technology and locks always stay a part of the campus master plan. Along with more cameras being installed, obtained through township funding, and more lighting.

Taylor said the state police conducted a vulnerability assessment, with academic buildings included in the testing. They are going through the report now, seeing what is being done well and what different angles they can look at to ensure any improvements are identified.

SUPD investigates best practices and adapts technologies as quickly as possible as new resources are available. Taylor concluded that if a student sees something, they should say something quickly so it can be addressed as it is happening. 

Adding to the less spoken about but effective means of adding simple fixes, placing door numbers on every door is an easy way to let police forces know how to get anywhere on campus as fast as possible. This has been implemented to give clarity on directing them to any location, Sheetz said.

Department updates, including the new maintenance schedule of 10 days on and four days off, have made getting ahead of calls much easier, according to Dominick. Plus, visitor passes are now online and significantly more user-friendly, according to Taylor.

It was asked if there may be a dip in enrollment since fewer high schoolers are transitioning into college. Patterson said it is a national problem, but regionally, SU will not be affected as much, as the university is well-positioned in its array of academic options and having new students from around the state attending. 

Sheetz said she is looking for new programs and demographics for a broad range of online options and keeping up with new audiences.

Multiple questions regarding the dining hall were brought up, starting with breakfast not being available on the weekends for those using swipe meal plans. 

Anderson said one change being made to help on the weekends will be that Dunkin will be open on Saturdays, and they will look into what can be done about Sundays. 

Anderson also mentioned the additions to dining that have been made, including the stressless zone, more non-dairy products and switching to eco-friendly and compostable products. Soon, these practices will be part of the CUB’s dining, as well. 

A student raised the question of whether dining would bring back the egg cook to Reisner, considering eggs have dropped in price. Anderson said they are considering ways to restart but need to solidify staffing. He said they constantly look at volume and speak with students to keep the dining schedule optimized.

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