Rising student body leads to crowding

The number of students attending Georgia State has been on the rise for the past few years and this year, there are about 31,200 Panthers enrolled. In 2008, there were approximately 28,000 students, and the increasing number of students every year is making the campus overcrowded.

"I don't think our campus size is sufficient enough for the number of students we have. The most problems I have are on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the courtyard from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m," said student Elease Kim.

The swarm of people makes it difficult for students to find their way through the classrooms surrounding the courtyard to a destination such as the library or student center.

"It is especially crowded in front of GCB where everyone is waiting for the shuttle," said Shana Choi.

This is another area of crowding that needs to be addressed. The flock of students in front of the bus stop usually block the entrance of GCB, making it hard to get from the entrance from the bottom of the steps into the building itself.

Besides the issues at GCB and the courtyard, it is difficult to find parking at Turner Field and even some of the parking decks. During the first week of the school year, there were stories of students who circled Turner Field for an hour before finding a parking spot.

Also, the wait in lines at the Student Center and the University Center for food makes it seem like people are in line at an amusement park. What's supposed to be fast food is delayed and waiting to pay for food takes even longer.

Another issue is with the Internet. The wireless Internet bandwidth needs to increase because it is nearly impossible to connect to Catchat or Catchat 2 from a laptop in the afternoon. If a laptop does connect, it takes a long time to load even a simple Google page.

The school is definitely taking into account the growing campus and has tried to accommodate the growth. Georgia State has opened many new dormitories in the past few years, such as the Commons, Freshmen Hall, Piedmont North and Greek housing. The school has purchased the former Wyndham Garden Hotel and the Baymont Inn & Suites, which will both become more dormitories.

It's not just the housing that is expanding. Recently, the school opened up the Petit Science Center and plans on expanding to create new classrooms.

Tim Renick, Professor and Associate Provost for Academic Programs, said the school purchased the SunTrust building two years ago and plans on opening it up to the students for classroom use within the next 18 months to two years.

He also said that Georgia State is planning on renovating Sparks Hall, which is one of the oldest classroom buildings on campus, into a taller building so it will make more efficient use of space, but this is a more long-term plan.

Georgia State has undergone many transformations within the past few years, but these "makeovers" are to serve the students with a better college campus.