The University Undergraduate Student Government met Monday to discuss aspects of the school’s future with President Mary Ellen Mazey and voted to introduce four new representative positions for groups on campus.

After leading a reading of the BGSU Creed, Mazey spoke to the accumulated members about various milestones she wanted to tout, including Business Insider’s determination of BGSU being the most affordable college in Ohio.

She restated points made during her State of the University address earlier this fall, especially the desire to continue work on achieving 12 goals in the coming school years, including establishing successful programs in software engineering and forensics; following the “Master Plan” for academic facility improvements; supporting efforts for increased student wellness and diversity; and attracting more students.

One goal she returned to throughout the night, however, was one to increase the number of University students who mainly took online classes.

According to President Mazey, BGSU’s population compared to other Mid-American Conference Schools was small, and that, despite aiming for 25,000 students, the university only hosted around 19,000 this semester. She concluded that, because student numbers were in decline, it was more important than ever to attain more online students.

She then answered questions that had been sent to her before the meeting, the first of which concerned the fate of the space occupied by the condemned Harshman residence hall.

Despite the quadrangle’s “prime location,” she said there were no specific plans for utilizing the space yet. However, she mentioned various ideas that had gained traction, including another green space or a collaborative project between the school and the private sector for student housing.

Questions about commuter lot issues were also addressed. Mazey said the same number of commuter lot spaces were available between last year and this, but that facility differences between school years had shifted where availability for parking could be found readily.

“There are adequate parking spaces,” she said, adding that parking habits for the new semester needed to be established before judgments on availability should be made.

Renovation plans for Hanna Hall were also outlined. The facility, which will eventually host the school’s business school as the Maurer Center, is slated to have all changes made by 2020. However, construction projects on ducts and a steam tunnel that run under Lot A into Hanna will begin this winter.

Questions were also posed by USG members at the meeting.

One question concerned the location of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which was planned to be relocated from the Math Science building to the Student Union, but has not yet moved. Mazey said, while space for the office has been settled, health issues from a staffperson in charge of the move have caused the relocation to stall.

She also answered questions about the removal of the Gish Film Theater from Hanna Hall due to renovations, saying that the name of the Gish Theater, as well as pieces of its memorabilia, would be moved to the student union. Film students, who have used the Hanna theater for film studies, will now watch films for classes in Olscamp Hall. An official statement clarifying the situation would be released by the end of the week.

Other questions were answered about the University’s approach to student curriculum creation; Mazey requests the university departments to review their programs somewhat regularly, and says that, to attain more customizable curriculums, students should work to make their opinions heard.

She also addressed concerns about the University’s sexual assault policy, saying that while prevention is the main focus of the program, both parties in cases will be properly addressed. She added that the creation of a sexual assault task force and new faces in the program indicated “we’re heading in the right direction.”

USG President Richard Racette said he was proud of the meeting, adding that the representative group was the biggest and most engaged he had seen in a long time.

He also recommended senators convince him to advocate for certain issues to University officials should they feel the need to do so.

In addition, USG welcomed new senate members and voted unanimously on a constitutional proposal to create four more senate positions representing different social groups on campus.

Dean of Students Christopher Bullins will speak with USG at their next meeting.