By Cheyene Miller

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Three safety-focused initiatives were the most important actions of the Student Government Association last semester, according to UK Student Body President Jake Ingram.

Ingram said that his campaign platform, which was heavily focused on improving student safety, was what “drove the agenda” in the 2014 fall semester.

“We thought of it as a game plan,” said Ingram, a mechanical engineering senior.

Cats Cab, a free, five-vehicle cab service for UK students with a valid student ID and who are within New Circle Road, received two additional vehicles. The addition will not lead to an increase in student fees, which funded the $63,000 annual contract.

“I was able to negotiate down the price of the service, and expand the service,” said Ingram, who noted that the SGA collects $11 in student fees per semester per student.

Another significant action by the SGA was the effort to lobby for a more effective way for students to cross the street on Woodland Avenue on South Campus, an often heavily congested area.

“The biggest issue that came up on the safety walk was the lack of a crosswalk, or any sort of safe way for students to cross Woodland Avenue across from Woodland Glen I and II,” Ingram said. “As a result of that, I’ve met with Lexington city officials, traffic engineers (and) UK administration and we’ve come up with a plan to fix it.”

If the motion passes, the speed limit in the area will decrease from 35 mph to 25 mph and a speed table, a prolonged version of a speed bump, will be featured on either side of the cross walk, according to Ingram. The costs will be funded by the city of Lexington.

The third safety initiative by the SGA was the LiveSafe phone application, which allows students to alert emergency services from their cell phones. It is scheduled to become available to students, faculty and staff in February.

The application costs $25,000 to implement and will be funded by SGA and the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration. It will not cause an increase in student fees.

Ingram said that a main focus for the upcoming semester is the further development of the Student Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, which was developed in response to students representing the National PanHellenic Council being the victims of racist comments on social media.

“This semester is where we’re going to see a lot of action from that group,” Ingram said.

Ingram noted that there are areas in which he would like the SGA to improve.

One is by making the SGA more prevalent with students, which led to the decision to have weekly open office hours where students can come to the SGA office and voice their thoughts Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. or by appointment.

Ingram said that the SGA is also in need of “rebranding,” which led to the decision to make a new logo and website. He said the SGA hopes to become “more approachable and accessible.”