Rather than hosting its normal body meeting on Wednesday, Student Senate hosted a residence hall student forum to gather ideas about possible projects that could be assisted with Senate funds.

While the turnout wasn’t great, a few students who live on campus did show up to offer suggestions and give their input. The topics discussed ranged from fixing the pool tables in the Student Learning Center (SLC), to extending hours of the SLC, to adding vending machines in different locations, but the primary subject was the possible addition of a sand volleyball court.

“I really like the idea of a sand volleyball court,” said Senator Kendric Carlock, who is also a dorm student. “I don’t know how much it would cost, but I think a volleyball court on the dorm side would be amazing.”

A lengthy discussion ensued, with students debating the possible location of the court. A popular suggestion was in the grassy land to the north of the SLC, but that was quickly shot down because that swath of land is a flood plain.

Two other suggestions were the northern-most parking lot on residence hall side and the common area between the apartment-style residence halls. Again, legitimate reasons were presented for why those spots wouldn’t be ideal.

“Keep in mind that the parking lot would probably not be the best spot because of the new dorms being opened in the fall,” said Parliamentarian Saif Farag.

The main argument against locating the court in the common area between the apartment-style buildings was that it would be a late-night hindrance to students living in those buildings, since that is a popular time for students to play.

When a curfew for the court was suggested, many students said ending hours at 9 p.m. would be counterproductive because most students want to play late at night, especially during the summer.

As the forum neared its end, the consensus seemed to be to place the court by the tennis courts south of Reynolds Hall.

“That solves the noise issue with putting it on dorm side and the lights wouldn’t be a distraction,” said Senator Kyle Prisock.

Residence hall students insisted that they wanted the court on their side of campus, however.

“The point of this forum was to improve the dorm side of campus,” said Senator Amanda Gardner. “When we get back from spending the whole day on campus, we don’t want to have to travel across campus to play volleyball; we want something to do here.”