Expanded parking plan for Southern's campus

Editor

Several new parking lots are being planned at Southern Adventist University to help improve parking on campus, according to Marty Hamilton, senior vice president for Financial Administration.

A 13-spot expansion of Southern Village parking has already been approved by administration and will be added this summer.

adding parking spots by SuCasa Spanish-American Church on Colcord Drive. That location would provide convenient access to the promenade and other nearby buildings.

“So you get the Bietz Center, you get the library, you get Hickman science,” Hamilton said. “We're thinking that this is probably one of our better locations to add additional parking.”

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… We need to take some pressure off of [Southern Village],” Hamilton said.

The land for another 54-spot addition between the Hulsey Wellness Center and the Village Market is being surveyed, but has not yet been approved by administration. Hamilton said that lot would probably be one of the first to be added.

Administration has also looked at expanding parking near the WSMC building to create more parking near Brock Hall, according to Hamilton. He said the university is also considering

To help alleviate parking pressure, Hamilton explained, students should try walking to different locations on campus instead of driving.

“ … You walk when you go to a campus,” Hamilton said. “… We’re too small for people not to walk.”

Administration has tried to be forward-thinking in regard to parking, according to Hamilton.

“It’s like, ‘Okay, we [have] a problem now, but what’s it gonna take to take a little of that pressure off?’” he asked. “ … So we’re having those conversations. They’re active conversations.”

Extended Curfew

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Southern’s leave policy.”

“Living up at Southern Village is based on trust,” said Dean Donene Braithwaite about the reason for the recent curfew and leave changes. “We [the deans] want to trust you [students] with responsibility as we recognize that students are beginning the transition out of college.”

Two deans are in charge of Southern Village: Braithwaite and John Willis. This is Braithwaite’s first year as an associate dean at Southern and, according to her, the new policies surrounding curfew and the leave process were discussions that began in the fall of last semester.

“Dean Willis and I wanted to see if there were any changes we could make that would positively impact our residents,” said Braithwaite, “and how we compared to other Adventist Universities’ policies. We as deans are regularly looking at our pol- icies and the way we do things, and asking what we could do differently. Our goal is to help students grow, and when they leave here they will likely be living on their own and making their own choices. These decisions emerged out of a desire to help students in that transitional process and strengthen the trust factor of being an upperclassman living at Southern Village or older students living in the dorms.”

Though these changes currently apply to only Southern Village students, these policies will eventually be extended to seniors and students over the age of 22 who are living in the residence halls. According to Braithwaite, the deans are currently addressing technical issues with the abode housing management system that handles leaves and marks room check, but once those are figured out, these changes can also be expected to take place.

According to Braithwaite, the deans will still be checking the approved leave forms, but she hopes that students understand the trust that is being afforded to them and will follow the policies already set.

“There’s now a little box at the bottom that you check acknowledging the approval leave policies and what they entail,” Braithwaite said.

“Overall, we see this as a positive change that will strengthen trust, encourage responsibility among students and assist in their transition from college life to eventual independence,” Braithwaite said.

If students have any questions she encourages them to approach their deans or RAs for more information. She is always happy to meet with students and get to talk with them.