Last year, Matt Victory and Jenna Roney, the winning candidates for Student Body President and Vice-President, outlined in their joint platform some of the changes and improvements they planned to bring to UNCW. An inquiry into what the Student Government Association (SGA) has accomplished so far this year revealed that much of what was promised last March has not been delivered.

Although newly elected student representatives often “come in gung-ho,” said Victory, full of ideas for the year ahead, they come to realize as they encounter problems that students, even those in SGA, have limited power.

“It’s about finding opportunities,” said Victory.

The following is a breakdown of the Victory-Roney platform in action:

-Increased support of athletics and UNCW school spirit

Although school spirit has increased, Victory said the new athletics director Jimmy Bass is responsible for that. SGA worked with Bass to create the Screamin’ Seahawks spirit section at sporting events.

-Universal grading scale for similar courses

“The University was not very open to this idea,” said Victory. He explained that the University is highly supportive of faculty freedom. SGA also tried to introduce an A-plus on the grading scale, but because most UNC-system schools do not use A-pluses and the change would have to be approved by a number of governing bodies, a process that requires a lot of time, the idea met a dead end.

-Online Publishing of SPOT evaluations for teachers

The University’s Human Resources department would not allow the release of SPOT evaluations.

-Improved Advising

“Other schools are cutting advising substantially,” said Victory, but SGA is working on improving advising to guarantee that students graduate on time.

-More academic course sections for highly demanded courses

Despite budget cuts, classes and course sections have been added. In the future, more online classes will be available in addition to the classes currently being offered, said Victory. “The way we’re being cut is not good for anybody,” he said, “but we want to make sure the academic core is last to get cut.”

-A complete reform of parking policies at UNCW

SGA inquired about increasing the number of parking decks, and the response was that a new parking deck would raise the cost of a student parking pass by $300. SGA is instead focusing on improving communication regarding parking lot closures and changes.

-Improved campus shuttle system

SGA has been pushing to get the Loop shuttle running in both directions. To avoid confusion, the reverse route will not be in place until next year. The university is considering starting its own internal shuttle system with student drivers, according to Victory.

-Extending bus routes to more off-campus locations

Auxiliary Services informed SGA that the routes were not subject to change because they were already contracted through Wave Transit for the year.

-Creating a shuttle from UNCW to Wrightsville Beach

Though Wave Transit did not like the idea at first, they decided later on that they wanted to take the project over fully, said Victory. A shuttle route to the beach would require funding from the City of Wrightsville Beach, and the issue is currently being handled by the two entities. UNCW and SGA are not directly involved. Additionally, Victory suggested the idea of using the proposed on-campus buses, when they are not being used on weekends, to shuttle students from the university to Wrightsville Beach.

Although Victory and former Vice President Roney may not have foreseen the impasses SGA would face, SGA has seen measurable success as a result of many of its initiatives. SGA purchased two water bottle refill stations valued at $450 each, and in the first week of having them, almost 2,000 water bottles were saved, said Victory. Construction will begin soon on the outdoor amphitheater on campus as a result of a student government initiative; additional seating will line the grassy hill, and a cover will shade the performance area.

The SGA is also working with the campus police to keep the Fisher Student Center open 24 hours during exam week to prevent overcrowding in the library, and they are working with Academic Affairs to implement a Nook textbook program that would allow students access to e-textbooks for 50 percent less than they would pay in a bookstore.