During its spring retreat, the Student Government Association reviewed the goals it set in August and focused on completing the remaining items on the list.

SGA met in the University Center Ballroom Jan. 6 to discuss changes and improvements to Northern Kentucky University, namely in the areas of technology, visibility, housing, campus recreation and funding, according to the SGA spring 2007 retreat goal sheet.

“We looked at last year’s goals and focused on how to make more improvements,” said Liz Osborne, SGA’s vice president of public relations.

SGA hopes to expand and improve residential housing, Osborne said. She said the acquirement of Lakeside Heights Nursing Home, the former retirement home NKU is poised to purchase, will help relieve the housing crisis on campus, wherein almost 300 students were unable to live in dorm rooms at the start of the fall 2006 semester.

Osborne said SGA would like Greeks to have a designated floor in Lakeside Heights. “Along with providing housing for students, Lakeside Heights will give Greeks a place to call their own,” Osborne said. She said from SGA’s standpoint, because Greek housing was originally created to draw enrollment at universities, it would be beneficial to show potential students “NKU has a real brotherhood and sisterhood.”

Another goal is to provide students with better access to new academic materials.

“Some of the materials in the library are very outdated, so it is vital to develop a funding system to purchase new books and supplies,” said Sheree Davis, SGA’s vice president of administrative affairs.

Additionally, SGA wants to expand the hours for the computer lab in University Suites and set up a printer in the student involvement center, located in the University Center. “Students who live in University Suites and do not have access to their own computers are limited by the short operational hours,” Davis said. She hopes the computer lab will eventually stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Expanding campus recreation facilities is also at the top of the list, according to Davis. SGA plans to complete a concept study of the use and need of space in the current campus recreation facilities. The university plans to build additional roads to make campus more accessible, Davis said. She said although NKU needs more roads around campus, the downside is the loss of important recreational areas, such as the intramural fields.

“Since they are putting in a road where the intramural fields are, we need a new place for (the fields),” SGA senator Tony Gulla said. “It would hurt the campus to take (the fields) out permanently.” As for the recreation center, Gulla said he would like to see the racquetball courts, which are rarely used, remodeled to add more space for students who enjoy running and weight lifting.

The beautification of campus is another objective SGA is working toward. “The Science Center is the most modern building on campus, so it is important to make new buildings similar in appearance,” Davis said. She said the integration of glass with concrete, more greenery, and gold and black color schemes will give the campus a more appealing and unified appearance.

The final goal of the SGA is to increase funding for club sports by $50,000, according to Osborne.

She said SGA requested $150,000 for student organizations in August and received $100,000, most of which went to replenishing the Legacy Fund.

The SGA would like to allocate $50,000 to club sports because of the increased interest students have shown in the activities, Osborne said.

“The SGA usually goes away for a weekend retreat, but this year we met at school to save money. We are trying to do whatever we can to ensure student organizations receive the funding they deserve,” Osborne said.