By Kaelynn Knestrick, For The Miami Student
After tiresome complaints by students over high parking ticket prices and waiting in line at the Rec center Associated Student Government (ASG) has listened, and is formulating plans to make this university the best it can be.
A new peer advising program is one way ASG plans to improve Miami. In this program, upperclassmen will be able to help first- and second- year students with major and course selections as well as career planning.
"Underclassmen already go to upperclassmen asking for help in courses or advice on what classes to take for specific majors," Student Body President Cole Tyman said. "We just want to train the upperclassmen so they can better help the underclass."
One goal for the peer advising program is for students to have an adviser with whom they can better communicate. If a student decides to change a major or is looking for job opportunities, the idea is that it will be easier to relate to another student than a professor who has not been in the same situation for a while.
"We have researched other Ivy League and Public Ivy League schools to see how their peer advising programs work," Tyman said. "For Miami to be a high-caliber school, we need to have programs like other high-caliber schools, and this peer advising program is one of those programs."
Another proposal for this upcoming year is new recreational facilities on each quad. One building on each quad will have a room transformed into a small recreational center. This facility will be available to all students who live on that quad. ASG hopes that having a small recreational center in each quad will help reduce lines at the primary exercise center, the Rec, as well as allow more off-campus students to have access to the Rec.
ASG is also hoping to reduce the price of parking tickets. Their goal is to have first offenses marked only as warnings and then each subsequent ticket will increase in price until it reaches the maximum price of $75.
One objective is to let off-campus students purchase a meal plan that, after paying a small enrollment fee, allows them to use the discounts of a Diplomat plan. They also want to make it possible for off-campus students to use the same account for MUlaa and meal plan.
For students without a MUlaa account, they want to allow them to use their Bursar accounts for services like laundry, printing and vending machines.
"We want off campus students to be able to use the student discount," Tyman said. "We want them to be able to use the same account for their food as well as other services they will need."
One of their final plans is to extend the hours of King Café. With students staying up late or waking up early to head to King Library to study, ASG wants them to have the option to eat at all hours of the day, which is currently not possible with King Café closing at 11 p.m.
"The goal is to have King Cafeopen 24 hours a day, but we know there will be compromises, and even if it opens later by just a few hours we believe that will be successful," Tyman said.
These are a just a few of the plans ASG has in store for the upcoming school year.
"This week's cabinet meeting will be used to revisit and finalize goals for this upcoming academic year," Secretary for Public Relations Allison Gnaegy said.. "We will also be bringing forward positions-specific initiatives."