Undergraduate Students
453 results found
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Pedestrian crosswalks on Washington Street
Crosswalks on 17th and Washington and 18th and Washington.
The terrain, confusion, and volume of traffic make those intersections unsafe for cars and pedestrians.
That area is on top of a hill, so oncoming traffic doesn't see pedestrians until the last minute.
Also, parked cars block the pedestrian from view until they are already ten feet into crossing the street.We are relying on hesitated gesture exchange between cars and pedestrians instead of crosswalks to keep people safe.
Those intersections are key campus access points which many students use when traveling by car or foot.
17th and Washington is statistically…
27 votesThis is a concern that has been brought up with the Golden city council, but this is a Golden city street, and Mines has no direct control.
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Exam Grading
I am tired of teachers taking an unreasonably long time to grade and return exams. According to the school-wide syllabus, "all courses must have a published, good-faith policy defining when
homework, exams, and other graded coursework will be returned. In general most work should be returned to students within two weeks, along with suitable materials/feedback that enable students to
understand how to improve their learning/performance".I took an exam in one of my classes back in mid February and it has not been graded yet. Returning exams in a timely manner is important as it provides feedback to students and…
114 votesUPDATE;
We advise that you contact your teacher directly in an effort to get a timeline for when the exam will be returned. It may also be beneficial to contact the department head as they may have information for you. As far as enforcing the two week rule, it is something we have and will continue to look into.Sincerely,
USGWe will have our At Large to the Faculty bring this up at their next faculty meeting and keep you updated on what they say.
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Meatless Monday
What's my beef? THERE IS NO BEEF! Meatless Mondays at Mines Market are a morbid idea. Not all of us are vegetarians, not all of us are carnivores. Why can't it be as simple as having an option for everybody?
6 votesWe emailed Sodexo and asked about Meatless Monday and they said they will not be continuing it in the future because it is so unpopular.
Love,
USG -
Hammocks on the commons
During the warmer weather we need hammock on the commons, so that people can take naps.
1 voteWe are in agreement with Chris Finfrock.
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Keep blackboard from crashing
Keep Blackboard from crashing. The new "fix" didn't work. It's down right now.
3 votesHello,
We have been in constant communication with the CIO and Blackboard administrator. They are working very hard to prevent any crashes from happening. Unfortunately, not all problems can be predicted and from here the problem is really out of our hands. Sorry!
Love,
USG -
Library Computers
The computers in the library are running Internet Explorer first off, which is odd. But that's beside the point.
First, these computers are valuable for printing. And yet the permissions are so restricted that we cannot access the downloads folder to print something we downloaded.
Second, these computers are also meant to be used for homework by students who need them. But when trying to open an excel file from blackboard, there's no excel installed? There are very few actually useful programs that are installed on the computers in the library.
3 votesBased on the minimal amount of votes this has and personal experience using the library computers, I think there was some sort of error that occurred for you because they have plenty of useful programs. Definitely excel.
Love,
USG -
Graduation Hat Decoration
A really long time ago the person in charge of graduation did not like us decorating our graduation caps. Now, that person is gone but the policy still exist even though it is outdated. There is no valid reason for it. Graduation is crowded and this would make it easy for families to identify them. This issue could be a quick fix and good way for mines graduates to get creative.
357 votesHi!
Hopefully everyone noticed that decorating graduation caps was not only allowed, but encouraged! We’re glad enough students wanted to see it happen!
Love,
USG -
3 votes
Due to the minimal support on this issue we are going to decline your request. Plus you are never forced to litter, you are just unwilling to find a trashcan out of arms reach.
Love,
USG -
There's no place to tie up my horse for the day.
... It's a commuter horse.
Also, it keeps getting tickets from parking services. What kind of sticker do I need for her for Kaffadar?9 votesWe’re going to have to neigh this one.
Love,
USG -
Blackboard "My Grades" area should be fixed or removed
For the last semester and a half, the "my grades" section on blackboard seems to be having issues. When there are notifications under that area, I click and am redirected to a page where the "my grades" section has disappeared. It makes it difficult to track progress in a class, or contest a grade on blackboard if the system is unreliable.
3 votesUPDATE:
They are actively working on finding a solution to the grade problem and are very aware of the problem. From here, there is not much more we can do. The report card on the homepage has been renamed to ‘grades’ so hopefully this helps students find their grades more easily. This is always accessible so you will always have access to your grades,
Love,
USG
Hi!
We have emailed the blackboard administrator to ask about it. Hope to have answers soon! In the mean time you can always look at the very bottom of your home page where classes are listed under “report card.” Just click on the numbers and the grade page will be pulled up. It’s not convenient but it works!
Love,
USG -
IM Sports should be free
For those of you that don't know, Intramurals is now charging to play most of their IM sports (not just golf and action karting like they always have). IM plans on charging students for floor hockey, basketball, arena football, kickball, outdoor soccer, softball, and 4 v 4 volleyball this semester. For example, outdoor soccer and basketball will cost $30 a team. Between our activities fee, athletics fee, and rec center dues, we should be able to play IM sports for free.
Charging students is unjustified especially since the level of service has not changed (they even removed IM Bowling). I…
127 votesFor the 2015/2015 school year Club Sports, IM Sports, Be Well, and the ORC are all in charge of distributing the money they get allocated as a whole amongst themselves. How they spend their money and the decision to charge for IM sports will be entirely up to them. We expressed how upset students are about the charge to John Howard, who is in charge of IM sports, so we hope that changes are made for next year.
Love,
USG
__________________
Hello,We agree that IM sports should be free. The issue here is that there was a $17,000 field maintenance fee dropped on IM Sports and Club Sports at the beginning of the semester that was not expected. IM Sports has to cover $10,000 while Club covers $7,000.
This fee was charged by facilities at the beginning of the school year, after allocations had taken place. Allocations take place…
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Take down Mica's walls!
Mica, the amazing omelet chef at Mines Market has been wrongfully trapped behind thick glass panes. The intellectual and uplifting conversations that were once a morning routine are now blocked by the excessive sneeze guard glass. Mines Market needs to change this for the well being of Mica and the students that enjoy him so much.
22 votesThis is truly a tragedy, but I regret to say there just isn’t anything we can do! Please forgive us.
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We need a dedicated Mining computer lab.
As mining engineering students we need to use specialized software that we can't access from home due to their high prices and limited licenses. Having a computer lab is nice but this semester it has been reserved too often for classes. If we can't use the lab we can't get homework/labs done. We need more classrooms for Mining classes so they don't have to take over the computer lab just to teach.
6 votesCurrently there are two more computer labs in the works of being made. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of time that classes have to be held in the computer lab with specifically Mining software.
Love,
USG -
PHGN 200 should not be required for non Physics and Electrical Engineering majors
Physics 2 is notorious in the Mines community as the most difficult weed out class all students must take. While the idea of a well rounded education is noble the difficulty of PHGN 200, I believe, actually is detrimental to most students' educations. Unless you are in Physics or Electrical Engineering there is no tangible net benefit to taking PHGN200. In fact the difficulty, high credit hour impact, and required time outweighs the marginal benefit of taking it. A less comprehensive class covering the PHGN200 core concepts would be more beneficial to Mines students.
13 votes -
digger den open later instead of mines market
Digger den should stay open later rather than Mines Market. Digger den is for snacks and late night runs when your hungry and the late night options for Mines Market are not sufficient.
Digger den is also in closer proximity to a large number of students because of the dorm system.
The options available and the proximity are importany for students to have accessible for students. Another option would be for Mines market to have snack and the store like atmosphere of digger den.
1,203 votesBelow are all the details associated with this issue:
On Thursday, January 15th, Undergraduate Student Government had our first meeting of the semester. The main topic of the evening was Mines Market. With the opening of Mines Market and closure of Slate Café, there were changes in the hours of Digger Den. Mines Market is now open late at night while Digger Den’s hours were cut back. Also the previous to go option where students were allowed to grab anything Slate was offering that day was replaced with a to go sandwich with two sides. This has caused a lot of upset with the campus. As a result, USG asked a few staff members involved in this decision making process to come and speak about why this decision was made and take input on how things could be improved. Rebecca Flintoft, VP of Student Life, Gayle Witzke, Campus Dining, and…
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Bowling alley in the student center
With the demise of Golden Bowl and the planned renovation of the student center in the next few years, I propose that the student center installs a bowling alley. Bowling is the staple of many student unions throughout the country. A 6-12 lane facility (depending on space) would not only give Club Bowling a convenient place to practice, but would also serve the entire student body and even the rest of the Golden community. I have a feeling it would be immensely popular. Despite the initial capital costs (which aren't as much as you think), it would be profitable for…
3 votesHello,
As cool as a bowling alley would be, all of the space in the new student center is already allocated. There just isn’t a place they would be able to put it. Sorry!
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Why must Blackboard Course Evaluations Close so Early?
I feel participation rates for the Blackboard course evaluations would increase if they did not close on dead day. I cannot speak for everyone, but personally I am much more likely to complete the evaluations once I have completed my finals and am no longer spending time studying. Is there a reason they close the evaluations on dead day?
20 votes -
Excused Absences
I personally think that job interviews should be considered an excused absence.
I understand that it could be easy to fabricate job interviews to move tests and assignments, so there would likely have to be an extensive verification process; however, I feel like it is entirely justifiable for anyone, especially a graduating senior, to reschedule assignments and tests so that they can pursue a job. The whole point of my education is to begin a career. It's a losing circle when the institution trying to help me get a career refuses to let me get the job to begin with.110 votesLast you heard, USG had written a formal memo to the Dean of Student Life. That memo, see below, was taken into consideration and approved!
USG has written a formal memo to the Dean of Student Life proposing that excused absences be given to people with job interviews. We spoke to him before hand so it is likely that the memo will be approved, however there are a few limitations. They will only be excused for seniors and you are only allowed two a semester. It is highly likely that this policy will be in place soon!
Love,
USG -
Trace should be shirtless more often!
We all want to see that.
15 votesWe will be sure to communicate this message to him Thursday during meeting.
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Email Lists
Seriously I'm sick of getting my email overloaded with emails I don't care about! I should be on a mailing list for things that concern my class, or my major. I don't care about offering a 500 level class if I'm a freshman. I don't care that the faculty can't access their account for an hour. It makes me miss and overlook emails that are actually important. STOP IT.
17 votesHere is the quote from the comment on this post from Jack Rosenthal:
“You can change your subscription preferences at mailman.mines.edu, just type in your mymail address and you can get the password for the list preferences emailed to you.
I like changing the lists to digest mode, I get one email per day from each list with a digest from all the posts from that day. Helps keep the inbox clean.
Additionally, you can set up filters through the gmail web interface, simply have it mach all emails with [ugrad] (or whatever list) and dump them in their own folder."
Thanks Jack!
Love,
USG
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