Undergraduate Students
453 results found
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Crosswalks on Campus
Has anyone noticed that, though the concrete on the sidewalk will dip and imply that a certain path is ideal for pedestrian crossing, there are technically zero painted cross walks on campus?
17 votesThe Sophomores are taking this on as a project.
If you would like to talk to them directly their office hours can be found at USG’s website here: http://mines.orgsync.com/org/usg/officers
-USG
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Modify the +/- grading system or get rid of it all together.
The +/- grading system in its current state (93-100 for an A) is unfair. The idea behind the plus/minus system is to reward students in the plus range while penalizing students at the lower end of the minus range. However, there is no reward for earning an A+, but there is a penalty for earning an A-. This isn't fair. Either go back to the old grading system or modify the current one (like Statics does) so that a 90-100 is an A and then everything else follows the plus/minus scale.
369 votesUPDATE: We took the concern to faculty senate. Overall, the plus minus system has brought up average GPA. However, we do see how the A- might hurt the students who normally get A’s. Faculty senate has asked us to poll the students to get more information on the issue, so that will be going out in an email soon.
UPDATE
Right now it’s up to the teacher’s discretion whether or not their class has a +/- grading system. When we polled the student body there was not enough interest in making this change. Thank you for your time and if you still have concerns you can try to speak with your professor about it.Sincerely,
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Access to E-mail After Graduation
It would be nice if we could have access to our Mines e-mail addresses even after we graduate. Other universities allow their students to use their e-mail addresses indefinitely and this will help graduates keep social, academic, and career ties.
148 votesHello!
We’ve been talking with the CIO about this and it looks promising! We will keep you posted on our progress!
Love,
USG
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The Graduate Student Government is trying to extend the Mines email address out to 5 years. We will keep you updated on their progress!
UPDATE:This is a big topic and CCIT knows students want this. Last year there was not enough time to make the change but this year CCIT is starting earlier so current seniors can have this for when they graduate. USG can not promise this will happen this year but working with CCIT we hope it does.
-USG
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The intellectual property policy is an unfair to students.
Improvements could be made by removing the "has bearing on a class the student is currently taking" clause, which is ambiguous and would be easy for the school to exploit in nearly every case; adding an exemption to claims on IP developed using any "school resources" for the campus internet, to which all students have alternatives, but the use of which is certainly convenient; and removing the burden of proof from the student as far as school resource use is concerned.
Also, it seems a little silly to claim all IP developed by ALL school employees, RA's and janitors included.
52 votesUPDATE:
USG is still looking into this and we will direct this issue to our advisor.Our Board of Trustees representative, Jerry Miller, is looking in to details about the policy and history of why it was implemented. Will get back when we have more info!
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USG is being irresponsible with money
I'd like to point out that every student here is paying a lot of money to go to Mines. In that, a large chunk of the money is going toward USG to help better our campus. USG is around to make campus better and hear the complaints of fellow students. USG is NOT here to use our money to buy headbands, hoodies, shirts, pants, and UNDERWEAR with the phrasing "We put the STUD in student gov". Which is exactly what they are planning to do with the money. It's really great that they are currently focusing on what color the…
56 votesThank you for voicing your concern to us! It is of the utmost importance to USG that we are actively working to better campus and student life for everyone. With that being said, we do receive a large portion of funds from student fees, but that money then gets reallocated to the 9 governing bodies that make up USG. The large majority of these funds go directly to MAC, BSO, BSM, etc. USG allocates a low amount of necessary funds to effectively do our job in bettering student life on campus with our various initiatives.
As far as the merchandise, we did purchase shirts for all of our members because it is very important for us to get our name out to the student body as it is our job to listen and voice their opinions to higher administration. We believe this purchase serves an important…
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Let us play with Puppies!
Mines seems very interested in our well being during finals..... So they should bring puppies on campus on Kafadar for us to play with during dead week, I know of colleges that do it to relieve student stress... Seems Brilliant.
23 votesThis was actually done last year! We hope to have it done this year as well. Who doesn’t like playing with puppies?
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Mines Park Price Increase
In case anyone has not heard, Mines Park is planning on increasing rent prices next year. The new prices are as follows
Single: 1196/month
Double: 819/person/month
Triple: 749/person/month
For a double apartment, which is the most common, this is an increase of $164/person/month. (All prices below will be for doubles) While the new rent prices now include electricity, this is a cost of about $35/person/month and in no way justifies the major price increase. For a 10 month first year lease, that is $496 than the new res hall prices for 2 semesters, and for a year long lease it…247 votes -
Food Trucks: better/healthier food
Sodexo is terrible. Let’s use the new pedestrian plaza as a place to invite local food vendors to serve healthier, better quality, and locally sourced food.
21 votesHello! In regards to Sodexo, Mines is currently in contract with them but USG’s Food Committee is dedicated to improving food on campus, including concerns pertaining to Sodexo. The committee is led by Willie Konishi, Junior class president. Your concerns for healthier options concerning Sodexo will be relayed to them. But in the grander scheme of things, we are concerned about health on campus as well and wanted to look into ways that we could support healthier food choices for students. In fact, USG has just began on an initiative to bring a “farmer’s market” type event to campus along with other clubs/orgs. We would bring in local farmers and businesses to participate so the Mines community can become more familiar with local and healthy food. This initiative is also being led by Willie Konishi, the Junior class president. If you are interested in helping us bring local and healthy…
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Better rec center hours
The rec center needs extended hours.
20 votesLast year USG was able to improve the REC center hours on weekends. They are staying open one hour earlier and one hour later on both Saturday and Sunday.
The REC center is currently in debt, but is climbing out of it. We should see more and more hours over the next few years as the REC center as they get out of debt.
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Student chapters of professional organizations should not compete with "for fun" clubs for funds
BSO needs to be revamped in general, but specifically with respect to how they allocate funds. Student chapters of professional organizations typically already have requirements from a national chapter, while the bowling club, for example, has no restrictions. Clubs that provide an outlet for students to pursue a hobby and/or have fun are wonderful and should be supported, but they have different needs than a professional society. Most professional societies are involved in educating students and advancing the profession, typically through invited speakers and technical talks. Often the speaker comes to campus for free so the only expense is generally…
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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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USG Doesn't Actually Address What's Your Beef Issues
As of when I am making this post, May 15th 2018, the last post USG commented on was made at the end of January. It is unacceptable that USG provide What's Your Beef as a place for students to air their grievances but then ignore them for months. Of the issues that do get addressed, the majority are rejected or stuck in the limbo that is "planned" or "started" without any action. This makes the students feel ignored and that USG is doing nothing for them.
Please USG, at least comment on all the issues so students can have closure.
15 votesGood afternoon! First off, I would like to apologize for the lack of responses recently through What’s Your Beef. Response times have been slow or lacking in the past and as the new USG installed for this academic year, this is something we are working to improve! We greatly appreciate student’s voicing their opinions through this portal and we believe it is imperative that we listen and respond to what is being said. With this being said, we have started a What’s Your Beef Committee within USG solely dedicated to reading, investigating, and resolving issues brought forth through What’s Your Beef. I hope this aims to improve upon our response times and provide better answers for you all! Thank you and we hope in the future to better serve you all and utilize What’s Your Beef more effectively and thoroughly.
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Apple Pie Pizza
Please make the apple pie pizza an every week event. Its too good and we all need to taste its deliciousness every week or else we will fail out.
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The air conditioner in Elm makes the rooms smell bad.
Ever since we moved in, any time we turn the air on in our dorm, it seems to start smelling gross. We know for sure its not our items because if we turn it off the smell goes away. I'm not sure if its a filter issue, but its really annoying!
1 vote -
USG Should Send Email on Voting Issues
As a student at Colorado School of Mines, I have no idea what USG is voting on at any given time. I believe, in order to actually increase the transparency of the organization, USG should inform its constituents of what the voting issues are. I don't know about other students, but I would like to know if they are voting to raise my tuition, change the RTD passes, or pass new construction projects. Additionally, if anyone tells you that they do, just take a look at there 'governing documents' page: https://usg.mines.edu/governing-documents/ On this page there is no mention of any…
34 votesThanks for reaching out! We’re glad you’re interested in USG and what we’re doing.
You are correct in the fact that we haven’t been the best at sharing memos/resolutions being voted on; this was not by design or intent. Throughout the past semester, including this one, USG has been working to improve our transparency and communication with the student body, and that includes our efforts to let students know what is happening.
We believe this is a great idea, and it would help improve our transparency with students! Moving forward we will do our best to share our resolutions, memos, and things being voted on and when. In addition, the final vote will be up on the website under Governing Documents. At times it will be difficult because things do come up last minute, however, we still want to keep everyone on the same page.
Sometimes we do make mistakes…
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I want to know how to do tricks with computer basics.
I already know how to use a phone. So, I just need to know how to put letters into this TV.
1 vote -
Please get the jesus people out of the buildings
It's two weeks to finals, and I'm trying to study. Twice today I have been interrupted by Christian groups trying to evangelize me and rope me into conversations while I am clearly trying to get work done. One of these was inescapable for over 30 minutes. I don't care what they practice or believe, but can we please set some guidelines about people who don't even go to this school coming and trying to evangelize me when I clearly don't have the time? I also really don't want people praying for me without my consent, it's weird and invasive.
4 votes -
E-Days Packets Filled with Free Beauty Samples
On a very shallow level, I am disguntled with MAC for filling my E-Days packet with free samples of beauty products I do not want or need, but potentially paid money for.
On a more societal level, this is an irresponsible use of resources in addition to reaffirming society's view of beauty for women. (On a separate note, were the packets separated based off of gender, or did men also receive women's razors, shampoo, and various other beauty products)? I understand that Home Advisor helped sponsor the concert, and maybe some of the other brands did as well. I get…
6 votes -
Mandatory Rec Center Fees! (Junior)
The rec center is expensive! Every semester the charge is pretty substantial. I really appreciate the rec center and everything it has to offer, yet it seems like the rec center should be something people can opt out of after their Freshman year. If you don't use it, you shouldn't have to keep paying for it!
38 votesWhile we completely understand your concern, the Rec Center fee is for the greater good of the school. Not only does your fee grant you access into the SRC, but it also allows you to participate in intramurals (for free) and helps keep the Rec Center operational. Physical activity is vital to a healthy atmosphere here at Mines and the Rec Center fee contributes to that. Thanks for your concerns.
Best wishes-USG!
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Study Rooms Being Locked - Junior
In many buildings on campus some study rooms are locked and require a reservation. I understand the need for this on campus (for meetings and such), however there is no reason to lock these study rooms when they are not in use. At night I have a difficult time trying to find a quiet yet comfortable place to study on campus. Study rooms are also great if you want to be louder and talk among your study group without disturbing others in public areas who want the environment to be quiet. There should be a way to allow those locked…
16 votes
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