Helping Make BC Better: Student Opinions

As with any institution, there are some areas where Bluefield College has room for improvement. Current students shared their thoughts about some of those areas and what they think could be better for our campus community.

One particular area was residence life. From move-in day in August until early October, residents in Rish Hall were without hot water, according to Rish resident Nathan LePere. Clara Blevins, a resident of East River Hall, said her sink “takes forever to get hot water, and the shower is only hot for a few minutes.”

“That makes both mornings and washing dishes difficult,” Blevins said.

That is not the only issue in the residence halls, according to residents of Cruise Hall, who spoke about a garbage issue.

“When students are placed in quarantine, they are advised to place their trash outside their dorm rooms,” Gavin Bauer said. “I remember one instance in which five days had gone by, and the trash was not taken out in Cruise. The whole building reeked of garbage.”

Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been exposed to the virus also spoke about difficulties trying to complete assignments while in quarantine.

“There are two assignments that I literally cannot do without the Adobe software,” said graphic communications student Keyshawn Jones. He is unable to visit a computer lab that has the software, and neither he nor his Introduction to Graphic Design instructor have been contacted about providing Jones access to the software he needs.

Other students shared similar concerns about the virtual learning environment, including questions about attendance and participation.

“As I’m sure many agree, online learning is far from ideal,” Laura Kimzey said. “I think we should have stronger attendance guidelines that specify when a student may attend class online (for a class typically in-person) and the level of participation they must have to be counted as present (e.g cameras on, speaking at least once during discussion, etc.). Otherwise, I think online learning threatens to harm our learning environment more than it must.”

Outside of the learning environment, Ethan Stinson proposes adding more food options.

“Definitely having more restaurants on campus would serve the college well in driving some revenue,” he said.

Student Beri Bishop agreed with Stinson, adding her thoughts on additional options for gluten-free food.

“Growing up around D.C., there were always so many shops and restaurants to choose from. It was definitely a bit of a culture shock when I discovered how small Bluefield is,” said Bishop. If there were a Chipotle on campus or nearby, she added, “I wouldn’t complain about anything else. It meets all my gluten-free needs, and it’s just so good.”

Some students noted improvements already with dining on campus, including Kimzey, who said she thought the cafeteria had “improved this year.”

“I really like the different options they provide with the grill, salad, and traditional food lines,” Kimzey said. “I have also very much appreciated the ability to see the menu with calorie counts online beforehand and even order food specifically during my time in quarantine.”

In the cafeteria and the classrooms, “additional sanitation would greatly prevent the spread of COVID-19, the flu, and other illnesses going around,” Claire Fingerlin said. She would like tables and desks to be disinfected after each use, even if students are supplied with sanitation wipes for their own spaces.

“After being promised safety and sanitation efforts to protect the students from the virus, I rarely see anyone cleaning anywhere,” said Kassidy Brown.

And while frequent cleaning may need to be improved in the classrooms and the cafeteria, it is not an issue in Easley Library, according to Bauer.

“I know that the library does a phenomenal job of making sure the workstations and tables are clean around the computers,” he said. “They have implemented an excellent idea in which laminated cards labeled ‘clean’ or ‘please clean’ are placed on the keyboard to indicate to the library staff that the computer needs to be disinfected before student use.”

Just recently, the college announced that spectators would no longer be permitted at indoor BC athletic events due to COVID-19. Before that announcement when discussions were focused on reducing fan capacity, Brown said, “The Athletic Board is trying to knock capacity down to 40 people at the games. I don’t think that’s fair to students who want to come, nor parents who have driven for miles to watch us.”