The Ideas section of the Student Movement started a new series this year titled “Improving Andrews.” This series sought to provide students the opportunity to elaborate on ways they believed our campus could improve, touching upon topics from the women’s dorm to the cafeteria. Although the series was more or less critical commentary, I’d like to end it on a high note by featuring the ways in which Andrews did improve this year.
To start off strong, the Wellness Center introduced bungee jumping as a fun activity to do with friends. Many students took advantage of this invigorating activity alongside their peers as a way to de-stress from their studies. Additionally, in the Wellness Center, we got a new boba cafe with a variety of flavors to choose from.
Going along with the food theme, SILA (Student Involvement, Leadership & Activities) helped start up the Andy’s Eats food truck, featuring many new recipes, such as Mexican chilaquiles, Filipino lumpia, churros, empanadas, tornado potatoes, and much more. What’s great about the boba cafe and food truck is that students can use their cafeteria accounts to pay for their treats.
Speaking of SILA, the Office of Student Involvement, Leadership, and Activities really picked up its agenda this year and empowered many student clubs and endeavors. Furthermore, SILA coordinated lots of fun events and pop-ups, such as the Cedar Point trip at the beginning of the year and free crepes in the campus center.
Lamson received some minor renovations, including new desks on the suite side of the first and third floors, complete with handy whiteboards and touch-activated lights. Although we previously covered Lamson in our “Improving Andrews” series and noted some much-needed improvements, it was great to see that the school has started on the *slightly* deteriorating women’s dorm. The university administration also announced that they will proceed with even more renovations this summer!
Beyond the physical realm, new student-led projects were created, such as Ekklesia, a worship space for young adult leaders (dorm credit provided!), and the Creation Care Council, founded by our newly inaugurated President Taylor.
While it’s easy to get caught up in what we need to improve on as an institution, it’s important to remind ourselves of the things we’ve made progress towards. Andrews is lucky to have an undergraduate population and administration that cares about making our campus the best it can be. As we move forward, let’s not forget to appreciate the small victories we’ve accomplished together.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.