Student Senate held a Listening Session about a month ago where we shared a little bit about what we do as senators. Then, for the majority of the session, we held an open forum for the student body to give us feedback and suggestions for what they would like to see addressed at the Academy.
Some of the primary concerns that students brought up pertained to bathroom equipment in need of repair. So, we are happy to report that the girls’ stall locks in the library have been fixed, and urinal dividers have been added in the boys’ bathroom in Brown Hall.
Another topic in contention was the dining hall. The most immediate sanitary concern that has been addressed is the rusting of salt and pepper shakers. All of the previous set of shakers have been replaced with new ones from McCormick with the ability to crack salt crystals and whole peppercorns yourself. Lunch scheduling was also mentioned, specifically not having enough time to eat. Consequently, in the weeks since the Listening Session, Student Senate has worked with the administration to find a better scheduling solution for advisory lunch days. There has been a focus with 8-9 to not run late on Thursday so that 10-12 advisory lunch can start on time. However, the logistics are still not perfect; we are still negotiating with the administration to optimize the situation. We would love to get student feedback about lunch through this form.
Other potential changes mentioned at the Listening Session pertained to the stadium parking lot, including expanding the lot and instituting one-way signs. We talked to director of Campus Facilities, Josh Buchanan, about potentially implementing some of these. Mr. Buchanan was open to creating new parking spaces in the stadium lot. In fact, Facilities has considered the idea in the past but, in critically examining the situation, realized the significant undertaking it would be to design a water drainage system for the expanded lot. Student Senate is following up with Mr. Buchanan and Dr. Lenhart in the next few weeks to discuss this issue, and we will make sure to bring up the one-way sign proposal as well.
In summary, this is what Student Senate has been working on for the past month to address student concerns and improve life on campus. We would love to hear any other feedback that students, faculty, or staff currently have. Additionally, Student Senate will be interviewing a guest speaker, Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Sutton, in the coming week and we would love to take everyone’s questions! You can contact Student Senate leadership by emailing the following:

Maya Macias, Senate President: [email protected]
Theo Gallant, Senate Vice President: [email protected]
David Gray, Senate Faculty Sponsor: [email protected]