By: Tristan Hill
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) The results from the Associated Student Government’s polls have been officially released.
ASG President Julia Nall said the poll received around 3,700 responses.
Student government officials say demographics closely aligned with enrollment data except that they received a larger amount of female responses.
The data was sorted into three categories: COVID-19, diversity, equity and inclusion and campus life.
Around 60% of respondents felt either “somewhat” or “completely” safe with the U of A’s COVID-19 safety measures, with 24% feeling “somewhat” or “completely” unsafe. The remainder felt neutral or chose not to respond.
Over 75% of respondents felt that they had good access to COVID-19 testing, and about 50% are comfortable with the overall level of care provided by Pat Walker. Of the remaining, 17% felt the care level was inadequate, the rest chose “no opinion.
Of commonly used distance learning platforms, Microsoft Teams ranked last behind Blackboard and Zoom. ASG said many students wrote that they would prefer all instructors use the same platform for teaching.
ASG has recommended that all instructors be encouraged to use Zoom based on the results of the distance learning polling.
Considering COVID-19, approximately 58% of respondents prefer remote class delivery. Of that 58%, around 60% prefer synchronous.
Of the respondents who have faced race-based discrimination, the most common complaints were about treatment by classmates and lack of inclusion in extracurriculars. Nall said ASG asked the question using common themes expressed in the #BlackAtUARK hashtag.
ASG’s poll also allowed students to select “nonbinary, gender non-conforming” or “other” as a gender option, while enrollment data only lists male and female. 40 students selected “nonbinary, gender non-conforming” or “other.”
Around 66% percent of students who responded to the poll said they do not feel that their college experience is affordable.
Approximately 35% of respondents had used Title IX resources. Of them, about 68% felt that Title IX resources were sufficient.
Results show that 55% of respondents do not think students feel comfortable calling emergency medical services for a student experiencing alcohol poisoning on campus.
Lastly, 56% of respondents would be interested in American Sign Language courses.