Marcus Smith
Lantern Staff
Between the first semester of the ‘17-’18 school year and the winter break, Butler Community College has made changes that impact students. These changes include rules regarding parking permits, the Quiet Room in the L. W. Nixon Library and the Student Service Desk in the Student Union.
As of the beginning of the 2018 spring semester, students no longer needed a parking permit to park in Butler’s parking lots. This was put into place towards the end of the 2017 fall semester, but it was not effective until this semester.
“We are going to continue to enforce parking, but it is going to be illegally parked and handicapped parking and stuff like that opposed to not having a parking permit,” Chief of Police Jake Kenney said.
There is no longer a need for parking passes. The accountability and the maintaining of the parking passes were not being kept up with well anymore, according to Kenney.
New this semester is also the Student Service Desk in the Student Union, which opened on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Although the desk in the Student Union has only been open for a couple of weeks, the services that it provides have been around for a number of years. The Student Service Desk offers assistance such as resetting a password, but it is also there to help students in any way they may need it.
The Quiet Room, which became available in the Fall 2017 semester, can be found in the L.W. Nixon Library, located in the 600 building. Director of Library Services Micaela Ayers explained that the room had not been used much. The Quiet Room provides students with a place to study when they do not want to be distracted by the other students in the library or their roommates.
Ayers suggested the Quiet Room could be used for group projects. The Quiet Room has also been rented out before. Last semester Disability Services used it for students to take their finals.
The only rules are “no talking, use headphones and enjoy the quiet,” Ayers said.
Other small changes have been enforced this semester. For example, student workers now make students fill out sign-in sheets completely like they are supposed to do, and there are sign-in stations in more locations.
These changes are seen by many students and employees as a way to make the campus a safer and convenient place.