Student leaders asked University President Stephen Hulbert and other top campus administrators questions about issues facing Nicholls at a forum Tuesday in the Plantation Suite of the Student Union. The presidents of all student organizations and team captains of every sport were invited to attend the forum. University officials answered a variety of questions posed by the student leaders on topics including the mascot, food service, handicap accessibility and the student recreation center.
At the beginning of the forum, Hulbert talked about the University’s ongoing recovery efforts from hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Hulbert thanked faculty and staff as well as students who contributed to the timely reopening of the University.
“I’m appreciative of the students and student leaders who pitched in,” Hulbert said.
Student Government Association President Alex Barnes said that the University’s next mascot has been chosen. The University is waiting for the copyright paperwork to be processed before presenting the new image to the public. Barnes said that he hopes the new mascot can be ready for unveiling at Tuesday’s Homecoming pep rally.
Some of the student leaders asked University officials several questions about the quality of food service provided by Sodexo. Barnes said SGA received some complaints about menu items and he was addressing the issues.
“I had some complaints about the variety of food,” Barnes said.
Some students are upset about the removal of hot wings from the menu at Godfather’s Pizza, Barnes said. The price of the hot wings has risen and instead of passing that cost on to the students, Sodexo decided to remove them from the menu. Barnes said he is working with Sodexo on alternatives to hot wings.
Some students said they have spoken with representatives from Sodexo only to have their suggestions responded to with resistance. Barnes said he understood the students’ frustration.
“They put more effort into saying ‘no’ instead of addressing the problem,” Barnes said.
Another concern of some student leaders attending the forum was handicap accessibility on campus. Mike Davis, assistant vice president for administration, said making buildings more accessible is expensive, but the University works to improve accessibility whenever possible.
“It started when we resurfaced the roads,” Davis said, making sidewalks on campus more handicap accessible.
Davis said the University has allocated $50,000 to install automatic door openers to more campus buildings. The state also provided Nicholls with $4.6 million to complete a backlog of maintenance projects on campus. A portion of that money will be used to make buildings more accessible.
The passenger lift elevator at Talbot Hall will be replaced with a full-service elevator. The modification will cost about $600,000.
Another $1.6 million will be spent to replace the air conditioning and heating system inside Gouaux Hall.
A student asked when the University would begin construction of the student recreation center. Davis said that at this time the University is unable to proceed with the project because of the bond market and the uncertainty in the economy.
“It is an important building,” Davis said, but the University is unable to get the financing from bonds to begin construction because of current economic conditions.
