Campus-wide communication may have an additional feature by the end of this semester.
Marquette Student Government is looking to write new legislation that would bring kiosks to campus. This year's kiosk project will be a continuation of the project that started during the last administration.
The final product of the project would be a two-sided, enclosed and lighted structure used to display fliers and posters that would advertise upcoming student organization events. According to the figures for the project last year, the estimated total cost of the kiosk project will be $28,000.
Most of the costs of a kiosk would go to the construction of a mold that would make a sign that is within the policies of campus identity and beautification.
"The kiosk would look like the blue signs that were put in front of all the buildings on campus," said Ben Banks, off-campus senator and College of Health Sciences senior.
The mold itself, made out of cast aluminum, would cost a total of $13,000, but "the charge of the mold would decrease every time a kiosk is added to the campus," he said.
Each new kiosk constructed could cost around $15,000, according to Elizabeth Feste, MUSG executive vice president and a College of Arts & Sciences senior.
Last year, the Office of University Advancement contributed half of the total costs at $14,000, while Late Night Marquette contributed $5,000. MUSG's contribution was $9,000. The numbers for this year could be similar to the figures from last year, Feste said.
MUSG would pay for the project by using money from the reserve fund, a fund consisting of the leftover money from previous MUSG budgets.
The Senate voted to allocate funds to the project last school year, but the kiosk was never constructed, according to Feste.
The funds, around $9,000, that were originally allocated to the project have been reimbursed, according to Andrew Doyle, former MUSG financial vice president and a College of Business Administration senior.
Since the funds were reimbursed to MUSG, the Senate needs to pass new legislation to fund the project.
"We are currently in a coordination phase for the project," said Feste. "This week Ben Banks and I will be writing legislation to allocate funds once again for the project. The legislation will probably go to the Senate in the next few weeks."
Feste said the costs of the kiosk will probably not change dramatically.
The construction of the project was put on hold last year when MUSG decided to allocate $10,000 for "Axis TV," the large LCD screens in campus buildings, according to Banks.
"We wanted to know the students' reactions to the screens to see if we should go ahead with the (kiosk) project or not," he said.
After the screens were put inside campus buildings, a survey was conducted by Late Night Marquette asking how students received their information about events and how they would like to receive it, according to Feste.
"We found that students still really want their info via posters," she said. "We have also had a lot of people ask about the kiosk," she said.
Banks declined to comment on whether the kiosk project was an effective way to use MUSG funds, but said his purpose was to serve the students' needs. Banks also felt the LCD screens will eventually catch on with students.
"The screens would be cheaper to buy and they are a cost-free way of advertising for organizations," he said.