The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is seeking out the student body to gather responses about the quality of life on campus.
The university has recently sent out an email to the whole student body, titled “The Quality of Life Survey,” where they want students to respond to the form linked in the email.
In wanting to see the opinions and thoughts on students’ quality of life, the survey was sent out by the university and One Acadiana, the region’s economic development organization, to see UL Lafayette students’ attitudes towards what’s provided on campus and throughout the community.
The survey is used to see if UL Lafayette students are having and receiving the best quality of life offered on campus by current elements already offered. It is also used to seek any findings on ways to improve the student experience through UL Lafayette and the community.
“The Quality of Life survey is used to measure attitudes toward the elements students perceive as having the greatest impact on their quality of life,” the email stated. “The aim is to use the survey findings to strengthen ties between UL Lafayette students and the wider community to improve the student experience and help retain more graduates in the Acadiana region.”
The university offers dining services such as Cypress Lake Dining Hall, Starbucks, Smoothie King, McAlister’s Deli, Ragin’ Cajun Food Court and Jazzman’s Cafe. They also have vending machines with snacks and drinks, as well as water fountains that are accessible for bottle refills.
Though Cypress Lake does offer a variety of food, some students feel that there should be more and better options than what is already provided.
“There should be more food options in the dining hall and the cafeteria should be bigger because it just feels too small with the large number of students that go here,” said freshman biology major, Kayley Trahan.
There are many spots that are offered for UL Lafayette students to park, whether you live on campus or you’re a commuter, but some students feel that there are simply not enough parking options, especially for commuters.
“I think that there should be more parking options, especially for commuters because there’s more options for students who live on-campus than commuters,” Trahan said.
The survey asks questions pertaining to the quality of life around the community and not just UL Lafayette. The university wants the students’ input about what they believe some issues could be or elements that could be added or changed to make the quality of life for UL Lafayette students better.
“Ice machines. I’ve been wanting an ice machine around campus that isn’t just in the dining hall. Imagine having an ice machine in your lobby in the dorm or just around campus somewhere,” said Morgan Wangler, a junior in management. “Especially as a band kid, I wouldn’t have to go all the way to the dining hall to get ice.”
As for parking and more food options for students, there are still other components that students would love to see around campus that they believe would benefit them and better their quality of life.
“I’ve always thought that UL could improve its lighting at night,” said sophomore accounting major, Haylee Romero. “Additionally, I would appreciate it if there were more water fountains and better elevators in the parking garage.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, UL Lafayette and One Acadiana are having a mixer prior to the reveal of survey results, where UL Lafayette students, faculty and staff, business professionals as well as community leaders are invited to attend before CivicCon.
Following the mixer, CivicCon Acadiana: Connecting Campus to Community, will be held at the Acadiana Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Nov. 1, from 5:30-7:00 p.m., where the results of the survey will be shared with the community.