Column by Tyler Montell

Fear no more. Mona and the security crew will no longer be kicking you out of the library at 2 a.m., as it switched back to 24-hours a day, five-days a week on October 19. We’re not suggesting that Keeneland or SEC football are reasons, but if, hypothetically, you have found your grades suffering recently, perhaps you should consider heading over to the library to take advantage of the restored hours of operation.

Student Government would like to thank Provost Kumble Subbaswamy and Dean Carol Pitts Diedrichs for their support in reopening the library. Subbaswamy and Diedrichs were two of students’ biggest advocates and SG is confident they will continue to lobby on our behalf.  Students, if you didn’t believe you had a voice before, I hope you do now.

Our mission at SG is to amplify the student voice. When you asked for your library to be available 24-hours a day, we worked together to make it happen. As a student body, we should be proud of our leaders that collaborated to achieve the best result in a thorough, effective manner.

The dining plan is another issue that many students have been proactively addressing and we would like to continue to hear your concerns.  Freshmen shared their feelings via Freshmen Senatorial Elections, where a referendum concerning the dining issue was attached to the ballot. Upperclassmen can e-mail opinions to [email protected], or volunteer to get involved with the Campus Life Advisory Board that will collaborate with UK Dining Services and ResLife to resolve the issue.

For those of you that haven’t taken advantage of the TaxiCats service, once you’re out of class, grab your phone and store this number: (859) 381-1010. Seriously, a taxi ride for $2 – from Chevy Chase to Broadway and Main Street to Greg Page. It’s like having personal limousine transportation available at anytime – sans the limousine. By the way, that’s $2 a person, per ride, so there’s no reason to pile your entire fraternity into one cab; just ask American Taxi to send two taxis when you call.

Here at SG, our mission is to do what’s in the best interest of you, the students. For us to accomplish our goal, we need you to continue to help us. I know you have seen the elevators in Patterson Office Tower that say, “see ambition.” We encourage you to be a part of the process that brings changes throughout campus.

We helped solve the library issue and now we are on to the next issue, but we need your help. Don’t like the dining plan? Want to see the institution of a sustainability fee? How about having one number to call to have taxi, bus or SAFECATS transportation available to you at any time, day or night? Head on over to our Web site, (www.uksga.org), to find out how you can help us influence the future of the Commonwealth.

If we want to succeed, we must promote dialogue and pursue initiatives that will engage all students in campus activities. Our mission is to make UK the best campus in the nation. Whatever “best” means to you – we want you to help us attain it. We believe in what we are doing and we hope you believe too.

Believe in Kentucky and see blue in everything you do.