Alex Eishingdrelo, the new chair of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College’s Campus Improvements Committee and MCAS ’20, wants to focus on small, tangible refinements that students at BC can really experience.
Entering his third year in UGBC and his second year as part of the Campus Improvements Committee, the economics major has spent his previous years on campus watching his committee try to turn the wheels of change. In his first year on the committee, Eishingdrelo worked on increasing the presence of printers around campus.
As part of the committee’s continued printer initiative, Eishingdrelo is hopeful that the quantity of printers will spread even further, stating that “hopefully we will have printers in McElroy Commons by the end of second semester.” The University had previously announced that printers will be available in McElroy, but no timetable on when that will occur has been provided.
Another issue Eishingdrelo is concerned about for this academic year is the inability of sophomores living on Lower Campus to use their Eagle Cards to access other sophomore housing areas.
“There are a lot of people in 66 [Comm. Ave] who are complaining that, even though they’re sophomores, they don’t have access to the other sophomore housing areas,” he said.
Eishingdrelo confirmed that he is in the early stages of having conversations with Information Technology Services about the possibility of providing students on Lower with wider access to other dorms. Nonetheless, it is a campus safety issue that will require the cooperation of the BC Police Department if change is to take place.
Eishingdrelo’s long-term agenda also includes a cooperative initiative with the Music, Arts, and Performance chair, Tiffany Brooks, MCAS ’21, to increase the availability of dance studios for on-campus clubs and groups to practice their routines, acknowledging that there is currently a small availability of locations on campus large enough to hold these practices.
The University announced as a part of its BC After Hours Initiative that more space would be made available for groups at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway, but the timetable for opening the new building near the Chestnut Hill Mall has been pushed back, according to interim Vice President of Student Affairs Joy Moore. It is not currently clear when that will change.
While he may have his own goals, Eishingdrelo also recognizes the importance of allowing members of his committee to suggest and act upon campus changes that are close to their own hearts, one of which is an initiative to get CVS vending machines placed around campus.
“Other members of my committee each have one or two ideas that they want to get accomplished, and I just want to help connect them with the right people so that they can get their own initiatives done,” he said.
Above all else, however, Eishingdrelo is committed to delivering valuable changes to the BC campus and its students with the hope of improving the reputation of inaction that UGBC has accrued over the years.
“I just want to see more tangible changes on campus,” he said. “I don’t want to promise any grandiose goals, and change at Boston College doesn’t happen overnight. I just want to have things on campus that people can see and attribute to UGBC. Just small things that students can see on campus and know that UGBC did.”
Featured Image Courtesy of UGBC
