By: Winona Young, Head Staff Writer
Do you like going to SFU on the weekends? Of course you don’t — it’s empty, nothing’s open, and you didn’t ask for a ghost campus when you paid your tuition. But students on residence are at SFU 24/7. This unfortunately means that they see SFU and SFSS services like Health and Counselling closed, the Fitness Centre’s hours reduced, and half the eateries on campus completely shut down come Friday. We have a whole section of mountain called “UniverCity” — are we really asking our residence kids to bus down the mountain to avoid being shut-ins on the weekend?
WHAT WE LACK
- Weekend hours for the Burnaby campus Health & Counselling
- Extended weekend and holiday hours for cafeterias like Mackenzie Cafe and MBC Food Court, so that Cornerstone and Dining Hall aren’t the only dining options left
- Longer Fitness Centre hours for people who don’t have time in the working week to exercise
- An art gallery that is open for more than three days out of a week
- A student hub that’s open at all (looking at you, SUB)
THE VISION
Introducing the Services Every Weekend (SEW) initiative, which will stitch our campus community together with a wide array of available services, seven days a week. Of course, this will mean a higher demand for SFU’s workforce, but we will be creating jobs as well as ensuring that more SFU students are getting what they need right here on campus. That means SFU students getting treated for injuries and seeing counsellors on the weekends, because sicknesses don’t stop after Friday. More students leaving their houses and dorms to actually hang out around campus, to see an art exhibit, enjoy a broad dining experience. More incentives to be at SFU other than just school.
WHY WE NEED IT
With all the residence buildings and condos sprouting up on Burnaby Mountain, there’s got to be hundreds of students stuck here every weekend. These students are desperate to get out of their dorm rooms. And surprisingly? They don’t want to spend every weekend of their uni years at the Dining Hall, Tim’s, or Starbucks. In addition, sickly and bored students shouldn’t need to commute off-campus to be relieved of their ailments. With more options and services right here on the mountain, SFU can finally start to have some semblance of community up here. SFU is already a commuter campus, and doesn’t have the most vibrant student life. With more services available on the weekends, students have incentives to get out of their caves once in a while, walk about, and help foster a campus life worth sticking around for.
