Guest Contributor, Cornelius Barber

The Student Government Association (SGA) is interested in improving areas of poor lighting on campus in a future budget. David Eldrige, former SGA President and current senator, thinks the lighting issue has grown over time.

“This year I think the issue has been particularly more severe with a much more in-person experience, a lot of new people, and several key lights seemingly out or dysfunctional,” Eldridge said.

“The lack of light has always been of concern for students, and one student feeling uncomfortable and/or unsafe about traversing their home at night is too many,” Eldridge added.

SGA Senator Sandy Coffee recently sent a petition via email to the student body, asking for input on lighting around campus. One noted area is the brick path from the duck pond to the Kelly Library, a heavily trafficked area.

SGA senators and Dean of Students Tracey Wright conducted a safety walk last Wednesday, Oct. 20, to gather information on campus nighttime lighting.

“The walk revealed that there are a number of lights across campus that are not functioning properly and there are some places around campus that could benefit from additional lighting,” Wright said.

While improving nighttime lighting overall is a top priority of the SGA, Wright stated that new lights and fixing older ones is much easier and less costly than installing new lights. She is hopeful that older lights will be replaced by the end of the current semester, while the possibility of new lights has yet to be scheduled.

“Given the cost of installing new lights and the fact that I am fairly sure this has not been budgeted, I am not sure when we might anticipate new lights being installed,” Wright said.

The SGA hopes to add new lights around campus in a future project budget.