Conversations with the Tobacco Free Policy Committee, as well as conversations about construction on campus, were brought up at the Undergraduate Student Government meeting this week.

Members of USG met again with the Tobacco Free Policy Committee recently to discuss the possibility of the University becoming a tobacco-free campus.

Danielle Parker, Vice President of USG said, “We’ve expressed our concerns with the policy and let them know what the senate has been saying and what the students have been saying, and they listened and were very receptive.”

Parker said that from this point on, the next step will be to go out and get hard data of what the students are saying through things such as union tables and surveys that will be sent out to students to understand how students feel about the policy.

This data will provide an opportunity for students’ voices to be heard and to provide good feedback to help make a good decision about the policy.

Also discussed was the construction around campus, specifially gender nuetral bathrooms. Gender neutral bathrooms have been a concern during the construction process on campus.

USG president, Victor Senn, said that, “We recognize the need for gender neutral bathrooms. They are a great thing.”

Senn also said that, “They are such a simple fix and they are not hard to put in. We believe they should be a priority.”

Senn stated that USG hopes that as buildings go up, more gender neutral bathrooms go up for student around campus who wish to utilize them.

As for the buildings being worked on, Parker said, “South hall and the greek village are both set to open and be ready for fall of 2016. Both are on budget and on schedule.”

She also said, “Eppler and the architecture building are both set to be open and finished in the spring … and Johnson Hall … is going to be coming down sometime between now and May and that will turn into a parking lot.”

Parker said the lot would provide parking spaces for students and visitors at the University.