The first Student Senate poll results are in. A total of 81 students responded to the first poll, with 37 students joining the email list for future polls, like the poll that will be released this week. This week’s poll will be accessible through the “This Week at WU” campus email, as well as the myConnect bulletin board. There will also be QR codes that can be found around campus, that students can scan to respond to the poll.

The first poll asked a total of five questions. The questions that were included in the poll were:

-Would you rather have better Wi-Fi or better cable?

-What food options do you want to see at the Beehive?

-Do you agree with the two lab science gen-ed requirements?

-Have you needed to print something at a time when no printers were open?

– Would you benefit from having a printer available after midnight?

Senior senator and chair of this year’s polling committee, Ryan Williams, talked about feedback he received for the two science gen-ed question.

“Most respondents said they disagree because it negatively affects their GPA, it makes scheduling hard, and many other departments only require one gen-ed requirement,” Williams said.

The most anticipated results for the poll were centered around the two science general education requirements. Two thirds of students said that they disagree with the two science gen-ed requirements. 23.5% of responses said that they were content with the requirements, while 9.9% said they agree.

Williams talked more about why students disagreed with the science requirement. 

“It seems like a lot of the complaints are that people are putting more effort and time into their gen-ed classes over their major classes. That is something where as senators, it becomes a big problem,” Williams said. “I feel like there is a big disconnect between students and professors when it comes to the importance of gen-ed classes.”

96.3 percent of students said that they would prefer stronger Wi-Fi over better cable. Common responses to this question said that students don’t use cable and would like a stronger and more steady connection to the Wi-Fi overall. Common responses for new food options at the Beehive included wings, fruit cups, vegetables and healthier food options. 71.6% of students said they have needed to print at a time when there weren’t any printers available and 79% said they would benefit from having a printer open after midnight. 

Most responders were juniors and seniors, with just a 1.3% difference between the two. Freshman students made up 25.9%of responses, and sophomores accounted for 13.6%.

Student senate president Luke Diel talked about the focus of the polls.

“Our goal is to reach as many students as possible. At a school that has about 1,500 students, our goal is to hear from 100 students every single time,” Diel said. “The responses were critical for conversations we have with the administration. We will look to continue to have more polls that will help us going forward.”