Editor’s Note: This story was originally published March 13, 1979 in the Rapp Street Journal, Arapahoe Community College’s student paper at the time. The author is unknown.

Editor’s Note: The following information was submitted to the Rapp Street Journal. Selected comments were chosen by ACC student Daryl Fuchs and his group members and not the writer of this article. 

Students of Atman Hutchinson’s Winter Quarter Organizational Communication’s class were required to do a group project. Some students chose to organize money-making raffles and donate the money to various charities. However, one group of students decided to survey ACC students about problems and improvements of the college. Approximately 160 students were surveyed and the results were very interesting.

When asked “Do you find the food facilities at ACC satisfactory?,” 118 of those surveyed said yes and 38 said no. Some students chose to elaborate on the subject as such comments as: “Needs improvement in cooking and management,” “Too expensive,” and “Adequate but nothing special” were written on the survey forms.

Another problem that faces those ACC students who drive, is that of the towing of illegally parked cars. The majority of those surveyed (102) believed that the cars parked illegally shouldn’t be towed, while only 56 believed that they should. Students comments included, “College students can’t afford towing fees,” “I don’t like to walk two miles to school when I drive a car to get there,” and “There aren’t enough parking places.” The most popular idea seemed to be that the cars should be ticketed not towed.

A new and perhaps radical idea was brought up in the question, “Do you think alcoholic beverages other than 3.2 beer should be served to the people over 21 at ACC?” Most students (83) felt that “school is for education, not drinking” and “There are other places to drink besides school.” However, 70 students thought this idea was acceptable. One student thought “if it was profitable, the funds could be used for academic purposes.”

Question 4 dealt with the value of the north building. Most of the students (102) felt that there was a need for it, while 48 students did not. Student’s comments included, “It definitely needs renovating,” “The atmosphere is drab,” and “Fix the roof.”

When asked if the north building should be torn down for additional parking, 55 were in favor and 99 said no. Comments included, “No, too many classes are held in it,” “Yes, It’s a good idea,” and “No, the dirt space on the West side of the main building should be paved.”

Question 6 dealt with an increase in student fees to cover fire damage in the student lounge. Most students were not in favor (124) of this proposal and 34 were not. Student comments included, “I’m never in favor of a fee increase,” “I don’t feel responsible,” and “Just a small percentage of the students use the lounge so everyone shouldn’t be responsible.” The most popular idea was “we should have had better fire insurance.

Additional comments and suggestions from students included, “Paint the outside of the building–it looks like a prison,” “Refunds should be given later than a week on books returned to the bookstore,” “Make ACC a four-year college,” “I would like to see more types of degrees offered,” and “The buses should stop at the main building at night.”

Although the survey was a class project, it seems that it got the students thinking about solutions to problems and possible alternatives to life at ACC.