Radnor police at OrientationOur Orientation program for incoming freshmen and transfer students is considered one of the best in the country. While in many respects it is informative and acts as an icebreaker for timid newcomers, it is missing one important element. The Radnor police department, which has such close-knit relationships with many students on Villanova’s campus as it is, should come and enlighten young 18-year-olds on the various laws that have entrapped many of us before. Who knew that you could get cited for being a designated driver, for example? We have a lecture on date rape; why not have more programs to educate our students?

Abolish freshman visitationThis is a highly inconsistent policy advocated by Residence Life. Basically, so long as a freshman lives in a dorm classified as a learning community, like St. Mary’s Hall and the Villanova Experience, visitation for non-residents is not enforced. But the single-sex and coed dorms on campus have no such leeway. Freshmen deserve to be treated like adults, so let’s get rid of this policy for their benefit.

Increase parking spacesThere is nothing more frustrating than spending precious minutes in the morning trying to find a parking spot on campus as drivers circle main lot like vultures gliding over carrion. Several parking lots have the capability to be transformed into parking decks to accommodate many more cars, such as the one behind the St. Augustine Center. The University should seriously investigate the possibility of building parking decks to free up space for drivers.

Rides to the barsIf we can’t have a bar on campus, we should at least have safe transportation to the local watering holes. The death of a senior this fall under circumstances that may have involved alcohol underscore this fundamental necessity. It may be costly, and drunk students may create mayhem on the bus or car giving the ride, but both of these options are preferred to a single student being injured or killed in a crash.

Drainage in the DumpsIt seems that, during and after every rainstorm, the stairs down the center of campus floods almost every time. For days after heavy rain storms, each landing on the stairs between Vasey Hall and the Connelly Center are flooded with pools of water. The campus has done a lot with working on the drainage of the Quad, but why didn’t they finish the job and fix the stairs?

Go watch the womenVillanova prides itself on its strong basketball tradition. That’s a slightly ironic notion given that during last year’s women’s season, which ended with an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Pavilion was far from full when the Wildcats played on the Main Line. While the men’s program has been struggling in recent years, the women are stepping it up and deserve the appropriate recognition from the Villanova community.

24-hour coffee shopCollege years are the time to burn the midnight oil. However the late night papers and early morning cramming are next to impossible without everyone’s best friend, caffeine. After 2 a.m. there is no place on campus open to buy coffee, and for those students without transportation the reheated microwave cups can only go so far. It is time for Villanova to open a 24-hour coffee shop for all the late night owls desperately cramming for the next day.

Respect for liberal artsWhile liberal arts students might not have definite post-graduation plans, that does not mean the students do not deserve comfort while studying here. Tolentine is in desperate need of repair and technological advances, while extracurricular programs and helpful sessions in the school are lacking as well.

Massive mass e-mails The quantity of e-mails that are sent every day is preposterous. Although some e-mails are necessary to complete day to day tasks, many e-mails are extraneous and unneeded. If students were able to customize their e-mail boxes to filter out unwanted messages, we might be able to remedy the number of inboxes which exceed their allotted capacity and reduce unwanted time spent in front of the computer. More basketball seating Seating in the Pavilion is a constant headache for Villanova athletics and students, particularly when it comes to men’s basketball games. Almost every student wants to show his/her support of the team, but rarely do they get the chance because of the lack of student seating. If the athletic department can find ways to sell box seats to sponsors, shouldn’t they be able to find a way to expand student seating? Could students be placed in the bleachers that run along side of the court, not just in the student bleachers at the end of the court?