A resolution to create a walkway connecting West Virginia University’s Evansdale Campus to Sunnyside was presented at the Student Government Association meeting Wednesday.
The proposed Campus Connector would extend from the end of Grant Avenue and run to the water tower on the Evansdale Campus, said Jon Bond, SGA student health chair, who wrote the resolution.
The pathway would ease the demand for cars by providing an alternative option for students, according to the resolution.
Ryan Post, president of the WVU cycling club, spoke in favor of the idea and urged the Board of Governors to back the resolution because it was safer, he said. The idea of a connector is not a new idea and was proposed 15 years ago.
"Right now students have to walk up University Avenue or Beechurst (Avenue)," he said. "A lot of students just don’t feel safe walking up University because there is no walkway and traffic is bad."
Post said the estimated cost of the connector would be $800,000 with lighting and stairs included.
The BOG discussed issues with the path such as funding and adequate lighting.
Post said supporters of the connector would work on fundraising and getting grants to fund the connector. Federal money could be used to fund the project, Gov. Taylor Richmond added.
The connector would be a step toward the University "going green" because it promotes walking instead of taking a vehicle, said Don Saas, a junior political science major.
"It seems that everything the University does to go green is symbolic or only temporary," he said. "I would use this everyday because it’s healthier, and it would help the environment."
The BOG will vote on the resolution at the next meeting.
The resolution to install defibrillators in all residence halls and give Resident Assistants emergency response training passed unanimously. The need for the equipment was necessary because there are currently no defibrillators in any dorm, said Gov. Jason Butts.
During her announcements, SGA Vice President Whitney Rae Peters congratulated Gov. Molly Wilson and Gov. Jasmine Vaghedi for their work for the United Way Campaign. The student campaign raised $32,000 for the charity, she said.
SGA President Jason Zuccari agreed, saying Wilson and Vaghedi tripled the amount raised last year, when he served as student chair.
Wilson asked the audience and the BOG if they had eaten dinner today or had jackets to wear in the wintertime during her report.
When everyone raised their hand, Wilson urged the board to donate canned foods and gently used jackets for SGA Chief of Staff Kayla Poling’s food drive.
"A lot of people don’t have that option. They don’t have a coat to put on, and they don’t have any food to eat," she said. "I want to make that your personal challenge over Thanksgiving break."
One student, during open student forum two, said she was compelled to attend the SGA meeting because of the good work it was doing. Anna-Marie Scarberry, a junior public relations major, spoke to the board thanking them for their hard work.
"Some of you have work schedules and lots of class work, I don’t know how you do it," she said. "I know there might have been some dissension among the ranks, but you guys are a team, and I encourage you to stay the path."
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