Inspired by IVCC’s plans to reconstruct the lobby and old counseling center with the student body in mind, our staff decided to take a closer look into student life on campus and how well the $1,750,000 project aligns with that culture.

The most exciting part of this expansion is the insertion of a Cyber Café in the lobby equipped with snacks, drinks, and much more seating so that anyone can take a load off in a chair rather than on the floor or a random couch, which seem to be the best options right now.

Places for seating is an obvious need around campus, but the creativity to make a space that serves refreshments, has a recharge station, and more space to study really gives IV students the bang for their buck. More information can be seen on the whole reconstruction on page 5.

The graphic recreations for the old counseling center left our staff less excited. What seems to be just more places to sit and a few TV screens could become much more impactful to improve student life.

With our staff sharing this opinion, we decided to chase our assumptions that many other students feel the same way.
Therefore, we created a student awareness survey that posed some questions about IV’s organizations and how conscious the students are of them.

This initial field data quantified 56 student’s answers, mostly from the freshman class, to the various questions.

Several questions gathered interesting stats. At IV, students are fortunate to have 40 student organizations all with great benefits to the students involved. We asked our survey takers to list as many organizations as they could. The majority (48 percent) listed three while 10 percent listed 7-9 and merely one student listed 10.

These disappointing numbers begin to reveal a negative trend; 76 percent of students are completely unaware of how to even join an organization, let alone participate in any subsequent events. The new student life area does plan to give student government an office in the space, but does not show adequate representation of any other organization.

Another staggering stat is how many students were unaware of the recent student government election, 75 percent to be exact. This should be one of the most advertised events for the freshman class, but it seems to be falling short.

83 percent agreed that they want to be more informed about campus events and opportunities. If so many students want to know to more about IV’s opportunities then why don’t they? It seems there is a disconnect between the students and the ones running the events around campus. How can students be informed? What will make the students break out of their routine and make going to school more than just going to class?

We believe IV has the perfect opportunity to solve these issues with this new reconstruction plan.

Inviting students into a place to where they can relax and enjoy themselves can also be the place to show them what IV has to offer. Building a connection between student culture and the organizations that support it can harvest a more valuable experience for all. It is a small step that can make time at IVCC a more rich experience.