Undergraduate Students
453 results found
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Disallow incoming freshmen (Fall 2020) living on-campus to purchase parking permits
This year, Mines is waiving the requirement for freshmen to live on-campus. Therefore, it's understandable to allow freshmen who choose to live off-campus to have parking permits.
However, as confirmed with an email I've attached below, freshmen living on-campus will be allowed to purchase parking permits. As everyone knows, the parking situation at Mines is than optimal. The number of commuters, freshmen and returning students, will certainly increase this upcoming school year (especially with reduced dorm capacity). Sufficient parking space is an absolute necessity.
Allowing on-campus freshmen to occupy parking spaces indefinitely throughout the school year defeats the purpose of…
136 votes -
The Registrar has put senior finals the night before graduation.
The last two final time slots on the night of 5/11 have been scheduled for two all-senior classes. These should be moved to an earlier date, as we will have graduation activities to participate in and these exams are scheduled at ridiculous times for graduating seniors. Additionally, most of us have families travelling here to attend graduation and it would be nice to spend time with them the night before graduation versus studying and taking exams.
136 votes -
Meal Exchanges Should be Reinstated
I noticed after not having a meal plan last semester that subway, as well as the Periodic Table no longer do meal exchanges unless you have the agate plan I believe, and that only gives you 5. Is this a way to force us to eat at Mines Market everyday? That makes me angry as I think it is important to provide more variety in our meals. Also this could have been made up for with an increase in munch money but it was not. So what's the deal?
131 votesUSG has engaged in a conversation with Sodexo about the meal exchanges. We are looking into the contract with them to see if we are able to bring them back. We will keep you updated as we work on this.
You can also attend the Food Committee Meeting on Friday at 12pm in Mines Market to voice this concern.
UPDATE
USG has been able to extend hours at Mines Market, but not yet bring back meal exchanges. Thant is something we will continue to work toward for next school year.
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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
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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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Mines is NOT ADA accessible
I broke my foot last week and getting around campus has been hell. I have heard Maple Hall is welcoming a couple ADA residents next semester, and I worry for their safety and ability to get around campus. For one, the automatic door buttons for the front entrance of Alderson don’t work, and many other doors simply don’t have them. I have to wait for somebody kind enough to hold the door open or risk injuring myself further. I’ve just heard the elevator in the student center will be shut down over spring break, so if I want to eat…
126 votesThank you for pointing out these issues to us! We have begun contacting administration to address the lack of accessibility and to see what they are doing to fix automatic doors that are not working. Would a focus group to identify the specific needs and areas lacking be of interest to you? That may be a next step to identify areas on campus lacking in accessibility. Please contact us at minesusg@gmail.com if you would be interested in taking part in this discussion!
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Non-Varsity Use of the McKee Weightroom in Volk Gymnasium
As it stands currently, the McKee Weight room is allowed only to Varsity athletes, but I feel that due to the amount of fees that each individual student is paying the McKee weight room should be open to reservation by student organizations. As it stands right now the Rec Center is always packed, and a group of students who wish to lift together are completely out of luck when it comes to using the free weights/bars if they want to and being able to get out of the gym in under 2 hours.
My proposal is as follows:
Allow students…121 votesThank you for voicing your opinion on this matter. We agree that the SRC has had a large increase in usage to correspond with an increased enrollment at Mines. This in turn has overcrowded the Rec. gym at peak hours. Allowing club sports, ROTC, and other student groups to use the McKee weight room would decrease the strain on the SRC.
Last semester your Junior class representatives began working on a solution to this issue and come up with a similar idea to the one posted. There are a handful of problems that must be addressed for this to happen. Scheduling around Varsity sports, supervision of users, implementation of a portal, and administrative approval are few.
Unfortunately, these problems take time to overcome. In the short-term we will contact the SRC staff to see about maximizing the usable space in the gym and increasing students access to workout… -
Irresponsible USG Allocations
Other people have posted similar concerns, so here is hoping this doesn't also get declined by USG.
It has come to my attention that USG has been irresponsibly and unjustifiably allocating money to itself during the allocations to governing bodies at the end of the academic year. As some of you may know, there are multiple governing bodies on campus and each receives an allocation of money from USG in the Spring semester for the following year. Here is the breakdown of allocations:
- BSO: $302,000 (to be split between all 180+ organizations on campus)
- MAC: $242,000 (to put…119 votesThanks for reaching out! We’re glad you’re interested in USG and what we’re doing.
First off, we apologize that you’re upset over allocations. While some of the numbers and budget management you described are incorrect, we invite you to learn more about the Student Fee allocations process. Tonight during our regular Senate meeting at 6:45 in BE205, we will begin small presentations from each governing body on spending and what each is using their allocated money for.
Our treasurer is also available during office hours throughout the week and can help you understand the USG budget. Treasurer office hours can be found on our website, usg.mines.edu. Any fee-paying student can request an expense report from the treasurer at any time during the academic year.
In addition, we also have allocation meetings scheduled later in the semester for the actual process where governing bodies complete formal presentations and decide on money…
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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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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 -
The gym is almost always full.
For the gym, it is almost always full. I know that the school is expanding... ie. Elm Hall was built for a reason. Also, I understand that students can work out at any time, but even at low density hours, the gym is quite busy. Trust me, I have been to the gym during all of its hours during the school year. I would recommend building gasp another building or supplementing students with alternative places to work out.
105 votes -
Parking at Mines
I think that the changes made to parking at Mines have royally disordered the already broken parking system. Making the lowest CTLM lot a commuter was one of the most ridiculous things parking services could have done. I pay close to $100 dollars more for a General Permit and it gives me the ability to park 20 foot closer than a lucky commuter? And thats only on a good day when I can even find a place to park ANYWHERE. Now they tried to make things right by adding a general lot by the ROTC building by Q lot. Sweet…
102 votesThis is something USG has been working on over the past few years. In the school’s 5 year plan they’re planning to construct a parking garage that would bring around 700 new spots. This is a project will take multiple years to complete and the recent price increases are going towards the construction of this parking garage. Feel free to comment below with anymore questions or concerns, come in to our Senate meetings, or come to our office hours!
Sincerely USG! -
Students should have much quicker/easier access to their grades during the semester.
It's hard to know which classes we're doing poorly in when some teachers don't hand back any work and no grades are received until long after the material is taught. Keeping up with grades and posting them online would facilitate our learning.
101 votesIt is now required for graded work to be returned within two weeks of it being turned in. It’s now posted on all the syllabus!
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We should give less money to the athletic department and more money to departments that need more faculty or more funding for research
So doing research on this, I could not find an itemized expenditure sheet as for what this institution pays for certain departments (which raises another issue that the institution should be more open about how they are handling our money). If I am wrong in what I am saying, then please attach an itemized expenditures sheet to this post proving such and I will be on my way including the means that this department makes revenue off of. With that being said, I am assuming that Mines pays a lot of money for our athletic department because of 1) Travel…
97 votes -
Only give athletes priority registration for required/core classes
Many HASS classes this semester were full or close to full before undergraduate registration even opened. It is not fair to students who happen to not play sports to never have a chance at certain classes because they are completely full before anyone can register. Registration is often difficult for many students every semester at Mines but we are often told that you just need to wait until you are a senior and then you can have the pick of the classes that you want. Even seniors have a paltry list left to them before their registration ever starts.
97 votes -
More Squat Racks / Bench Presses in the Gym
The squat racks and bench press are full on a routine basis, and these are two very key components to having a great gym. Every day at peak hours everything in the realm of free weights is full, but the cardio area has never been full. This would allow more people to workout what they want to work out, and relieve some stress during workouts. We need healthy bodies to pair our healthy minds!
95 votesWe agree with Jess Zielinski, but we have also informed SRC of this.
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Getting rid of sanitary product machines is not an answer.
Let me explain this to everyone. Sometimes your period starts and you were unaware of the fact that its coming. In that cast having access to sanitary products is massively important. Girl have to miss class periods some times because there period started unexpectedly and there are literally no where to get tampons.
The percentage of women at this school is going up, and that means that the sanitary products would be going bad less often.
Having working tampon machines at the busier buildings such as the student center, ctlm, brown, and MZ is immeasurably important. Access to sanitary products…90 votesWe understand the issue and have been working on a more viable solution. For now, sanitary products are available for $1.99 in the bookstore. In the future, we are hoping to partner with the health center to have them provided for free.
Love,
USG -
A real solution to the parking issues on campus.
There's a couple things I think could be done about the parking situation on campus (including some that are currently being done) to help improve the overall parking scenario on campus, including making parking more affordable for all students.
What's been done: Students who live on campus can't buy general passes. Students who live on mines park can only get MP passes.
Suggestion to improve further: Students who live on campus can only park overnight in MP, and enforcing this.A motorcyclist pass:
I know of quite a few people who have motorcycles on campus, and I'm one of them.…89 votesPricing based on vehicle size: Most of the spots on campus are not on the street so we do not think that pricing based on vehicle size would be a good option.
Pass enforcement: It makes it easier for the student workers to have the pass be consistently in one place.
Parking office: We will bring up in our meeting that this is “hostile” but it’s a joke it is not meant to be taken seriously,
Buying passes based on the day: We can bring this up in a meeting on the logistics of buying passes for specific days. Most people have classes at least four days of the week, however, so I don’t know how much of a benefit this would be.
Motorcycle pass: We discussed this issue and decided that we are not going to pursue it. There are a lot of other issues that we are working…
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Mines Needs to Improve Commuter Parking
I know I'm not the only person to complain about parking at mines, but it is absolutely a joke. This morning I pulled into the A/AA parking lot with what I thought was plenty of time to find a spot and walk to class. However, I circled the entire lot with several cars behind me and I could not find a single spot. I drove to the other commuter lot, and over to the football field to try and find parking and I couldn't find anything.I eventually jut gave up and parked in downtown Golden. It's ridiculous to charge students…
86 votes -
Rumors re: graduation schedule for next semester
It is rumored that the graduation schedule will be changed next semester so some students would graduate on Thursday night, others on Friday, and all inside. We would be divided by majors. We started together, we should end together. Dividing for the sake of convenience for the school greatly takes away from the meaning of the day for us. Graduation is an incredibly important day that we have all worked towards TOGETHER, we should all be together in the end.
83 votesUSG is meeting with the executive board of Mines and plan to discuss graduation concerns at this meeting. We have sent out a survey to relay all student concerns regarding this manner. We plan to bring your concerns to the executive board and will return to this post with an update.
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Computer science field needs to allow students to count an internship for coursework or let them get payed for doing field session
It's ridiculous that it's illegal to not pay an intern for work that a company profits off of and the computer science department has the audacity to have students do work for a company and not only not pay them, but charge them for it and ban companies from paying them. The department recommends to take it during the junior year, when most students would get their best internship. I, and many people I know, have lost internship offers after companies learned that we need to do field session. Mines charges over $3,000 to in state students and over $5,000…
83 votesHello! Thank you for voicing your concern to us! After many discussions, it appears that the computer science field session will begin to be offered during both the summer and the fall semesters beginning in 2019! This allows students to have the option of whatever works best with their schedules! More information will be coming in spring 2019 regarding the details of this change. Hopefully this comes as good news!
Best, USG
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