By Martina Treviño/ne news editor

A forum seeking input from students concerning campus issues drew more than 70 NW Campus students, who volunteered to participate in the first NW Campus Visioning Session.

Dr. Elva LeBlanc, NW president, and Dr. Joe Rode, vice-president for student development services, directed the event.

Most of the participants were traditional students just out of high school, such as Doris Yip and Shanteill Claassen.

Allen Cole, Sedrick Lacy and Tina Redman, however, spoke for non-traditional students.

More sessions are being planned to get input from students who are unable to attend daytime sessions, Rode said.

The students first responded to the question, “Why did you choose to attend NW Campus?”

The responses varied from the campus being in a convenient location to the campus being built by a beautiful lake.

Rode directed the students to large banners representing various campus services, including the bookstore, cafeteria, library, scheduling, technology and academic programs.

A catchall category—NW Campus is My Campus of Choice—rounded out the selections.

The participants were asked to envision the future of NW Campus and to attach sticky notes with their ideas written on them to the corresponding banner.

The students’ visions included such things as specific brands of soft drinks, healthier food, extended gym hours, childcare facilities and additional security.

Dominique Gannoe would like book titles to be posted online before classes start. Healthier food in the cafeteria and parking stickers were also on her wish list.

Gannoe received a ticket on campus because her parking pass broke.

Gannoe also would like for classes to be pod cast, for an optional student directory to be printed, for PE classes to include time for students to change clothes and for copies of textbooks to be in the library for students who cannot afford to purchase them.

Claassen wanted to simplify current technology, including consolidating Web sites. She would like Web site access codes to be made available to students who purchase used books.

Claassen could not sell one of her books back because the access code had been used, and her friend had to buy a new book to access the Web site.

“ It makes no sense for both of us to have to spend $45 for a book we will never use again,” she said.

Angel Gobel suggested building an additional dance studio.

“ Yoga students have to take their classes with people running all around them,” she said.

Kevin Jenson would like a student-managed student center that could provide coffee, snacks or breakfast when the cafeteria is not open.

The cafeteria banner was filled with suggestions: longer hours, outsourcing of food concessions, a salad bar, a sushi bar, a coffee bar, big screen TVs, computer stations, a broadcast room and improved layout with a lake view.

For the bookstore, suggestions included longer hours, healthier foods and frozen dinner sections for students who would like a meal after the cafeteria has closed.

Requests for the library included longer hours for tutoring, a change machine for the copiers, a larger conference room for group activities and updated laptop computers.

Students requested a process to alleviate long wait times. They suggested a beeper system combined with a take-a-number system and waiting time sign, so they could do other things instead of waiting in line in the business office.

Childcare facilities, extended parking lots, improved life-counseling services, a centralized nursing station, covered walkways between buildings, additional university days, photography classes, water sports, competitive sport teams, landscaping, a massage therapist, a movie theater and a telescope for stargazing also were requested.

Students were glad to have the opportunity to make suggestions about the future of NW Campus.

“ I appreciated the fact they wanted our input,” Redman said.

Lacy said. “They want to make changes to make us happy. That’s a very good thing. I appreciate that about the administration.”

About the suggestions, Rode said, “There were things I knew I would hear, things I expected to hear and things I never thought I would hear.