In order to ensure student concerns are heard when it comes to campus housing, Syracuse University’s Residence Hall Association has launched a new initiative called Enhance My Living Experience.

Enhance My Living Experience is designed to gather student concerns about residence halls and identify which problems the RHA can improve. The initiative, which was announced about a month ago, has garnered about 30 responses so far. Students are able to fill out a short form including questions about suggestions and goals on a separate tab on RHA’s website.

Stephen Milewski, director of public relations for RHA and a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major, said leaders of the initiative are trying to reach out to students to see what would make their living experience more comfortable and enjoyable.

Students can also suggest improvements concerning entertainment and other programs, and projects can be as small or as large as students want, Milewski said. For example, the first and only water fountain was installed in Day Hall and over Winter Break, Watson Hall’s bathrooms were updated, he said. Milewski added that students are working toward expressing their thoughts and opinions across campus.

The timetable for a project depends on its size, Milewski said. The water fountain was installed within a day, but Watson’s bathroom renovations extended throughout Winter Break.

Malik Evans, RHA president and a sophomore marketing and advertising major, said Enhance My Living Experience is an active approach to connecting student concerns with the administration.

“Our primary focus is the residence halls and knowing what are the residents’ experiences,” he said.

Evans said some of the most common responses so far are requests for gender-neutral bathrooms, water filtration systems and lounge space.

Students have suggestions, but not many of them know about Enhance My Living Experience yet.

Danielle Bertolini, a freshman English and textual studies major, and John Freda, a freshman biology major, both said they did not know about Enhance My Living Experience. Freda said he had concerns about the showers in his dorm.

“Our budget is directly from residence life,” Evans said. He said that there are not a lot of restraints on spending, though. Evans explained that short-term projects, like the water fountain installed in Day, can be financed directly through the Office of Residence Life’s budget, but more complex projects such as a wholesale renovation would require Chancellor Kent Syverud’s approval and the university to finance it.

Before his term as RHA president ends in May, Evans said he hopes a permanent fund will be established for the organization so it may operate more efficiently. It would also help students know that their money would be reserved for them, he added.

Evans said Enhance My Living Experience is special in that it provides students a direct link to the administration and other university personnel, saying the RHA is the “official organization to go to if you have a problem about your living experience.”

“Enhance My Living Experience is just another avenue where they can express their opinions, they can express their voice and they can incite change in a positive manner,” Milewski said.

Published on February 4, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Danny: dmantoot@syr.edu