Fix My Campus takes on student complaints with C2 bus, Merchants-on-Points

<p>Fix My Campus works with the administration to address issues that students post in the FMC Facebook page.</p>

Fix My Campus works with the administration to address issues that students post in the FMC Facebook page.

Concerned about raw onions? Watery Nutella? Feral cats?

Fix My Campus is a program the DSG Services Committee created in 2012 that aims to fix “sidewalks, not social issues,” explained sophomore Jacob Glasser, co-director of FMC with senior Pooja Mehta.

FMC works with the administration to address issues identified by the student body. Students can post suggestions for campus improvement projects on the FMC Facebook page, which is reviewed weekly by the FMC committee.

“We go through every post that has been made in the last week on the Facebook page. We discuss if it’s something we would like to take on, and if it is, then we decide who is going to take on the project,” Glasser said.

Glasser highlighted “feasibility” as the most important criteria for deciding which projects FMC will pursue. He noted that the committee selects projects that they believe will likely be approved by staff members and administrators. 

“We know what’s been tried before in past years, and we know what’s worked and what hasn’t,” Glasser said. “The more times we go to them with a project that’s crazy and out there, the less they’re going to trust us on the more reasonable things."

Glasser said that FMC still takes on campus projects that students are passionate about. 

“We tend to look at how many likes and comments posts are getting,” he said, explaining how FMC focuses on the issues that receive the most “interaction” on their Facebook page.

Sophomore Tyler Goldberger commented that FMC seems to have “really good intentions” when choosing projects. However, he expressed some disappointment regarding their selection process.

“FMC does pick appropriate requests, but I think that they could do more,” Goldberger said. “I personally wanted printers to be put in Perkins [on other floors], but they did not really seem too interested in helping me out.”

This year, FMC has taken on two long-term projects—increasing the frequency of the C2 bus and expanding Merchants-on-Points hours. The committee is currently working with Duke Parking and Transportation and Duke Dining to address these issues.

Although it is unlikely that the bus transportation schedule will change, FMC has begun to make progress regarding concerns about Merchants-on-Points. The group started a petition in November “to reestablish some form of food delivery on our campus for hours beyond the current restrictions,” according to the petition.

Glasser said that FMC will also address some of the minor grievances expressed by students such as the “watered-down Nutella” in the West Union Cafe.

In previous years, FMC has worked to place bike racks and picnic tables on Central Campus, to install new light fixtures outside of Perkins and to replace the laundry machines on all campuses. They have also worked with the Duke post office to expand hours for students.

Although FMC has succeeded to making certain changes on campus, many students are unaware of this service. First-year Isabel Shepard said she had never heard of FMC when asked about the program. 

“I think they're not all that well-known,” sophomore Charlaine Chen said, noting that she knew of the group but not of any of their campus improvement initiatives.

Despite the fact that not all students know about FMC, Glasser said that the committee will remain a voice for Duke undergraduates.

“We do our best to make the campus a better place and to serve the student body,” he said.

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