The Smith/Murphy administration has been working over the summer to begin delivering on the campaign promises we made during the spring election season. We plan to make issue updates a routine process for communicating with the student body over the academic year—by increasing transparency and communication efforts with students, we will continue producing on our promise of real action to improve campus life during our time in office.

Vandy Vans Reverse Route: By partnering closely with the Vanderbilt Police Department, VSG officers and leaders of our Security Committee strive to continue improvements to the Vandy Van shuttle service, one of student government’s most important security efforts. This year, we are excited to introduce the “Reverse Route.” Under the new structure, the Commons Route will circle campus in a counter-clockwise direction—one 25 passenger van will run from Branscomb to Morgan-Lewis to Hank Ingram House to Kissam from 5pm-5am nightly. We plan to introduce signage to the van so that students will be able to differentiate the Reverse Route van from other shuttles.

Pub Renovation: In an effort to make the Sarratt Student Center more “student friendly,” VSG has partnered with the Office of Student Centers and University Dining Services over the summer to introduce a student lounge to the area outside of the Pub. We have funded the purchase of two pool tables, a foosball table, and flat screen televisions for the space and expect construction to be completed very soon. Once classes begin, you will have a place on main campus to relax with friends, watch a football game, and enjoy a Pub brew while shooting pool on a study break.

Expansion of Outlets in Rand: After working last year to open up Rand as a 24/7 study space,  VSG saw students struggling with limited access to outlets during late night studying sessions. In order to make studying in Rand more convenient for students, VSG worked with Vanderbilt Dining and Sarratt Student Center to bring the addition of twenty new outlets have been added to Rand.

Residence Hall Improvements: Every year, VSG members meet with administrators in the Office of Housing and Residence Education to lobby for capital improvements to your living spaces. Over the summer, we saw the installment of water pressure boosters to Towers, the introduction of DVD/TV combinations to lobbies in Kissam, renovations of showers and toilets in Branscomb bathrooms, and addition of recycling bins to common spaces in every residence hall on campus. Let us know of similar improvements you would like elsewhere on campus as we begin planning for this lobbying process for next year!

Co-Sponsorship of the Month Launch: During last year’s student government election season, we promised to direct more resources to helping student organizations pursue large-scale programming efforts. With the launch of our new “Co-Sponsorship of the Month” effort, we are starting this initiative in a big way by providing the Vanderbilt Performing Arts Council’s Spotlight! Event on August 29^th with $1000 in financial support and volunteer manpower. We are interested in supporting any student organization event that is designed to reach a large number of students with meaningful programs—if you feel like your organization’s event could serve as great co-sponsorship of the month opportunity, check out our online application on our website, www.vanderbiltstudentgovernment.org!

Course Enrollment Systems: VSG has been in contact with the University Registrar’s office over the summer to address the most significant problems in our course enrollment process and continue pushing to replace OASIS with an improved system. Administrators acknowledge the significant problems with our outdated system and have committed significant financial, employee, and time resources towards developing a new model. Currently, we are on track to introduce an OASIS replacement in Spring 2010. Until that point, we are collaborating with the Registrar’s office to make students aware of strategies for easing navigation on OASIS. We plan to follow up with an email next week identifying strategies for you to help reduce overloads on OASIS during the add/drop period.

Academic Advising: After working with administrators throughout the Spring semester to improve pre-major advising experiences for all incoming students in the College of Arts & Science throughout the Spring semester, VSG is proud that the college has incorporated many of our suggestions into the creation of the new Pre-Major Advising Center for A&S students in the Commons Center. We are confident in the leadership of director Patricia Armstrong and encouraged by the center’s plans to provide in-depth, personal advising to students on course selection, pre-professional track sequences, and opportunities for unique course offerings. 

Redesigned VSG Website: In an effort to promote transparency and more effective communication with students, we redesigned the VSG website over the summer to create an improved platform for providing campus updates. Visit today to learn about opportunities for getting involved in student government and adding your voice to our efforts to influence change on campus!