Some students who want to bridge the gap between South Campus and main campus hope representation in the Student Government Association will help.

Bridging that gap is the goal of SGA President Kevin Smiley’s visits to South Campus every month.

Smiley talked with students Friday at SGA’s third South Campus forum, hoping to gain insight on their thoughts and concerns.

Since September, Smiley has been visiting South Campus once a month for three hours to speak to students there.

“It’s always nice to have one-on-one conversations with students,” he said.

Marcus Rembert, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., was among the students to whom Smiley spoke.

Rembert said he’s glad SGA is coming to South Campus, because SGA members are able to see that the people and environment aren’t much different from main campus.

Some people have negative perceptions of South Campus and its students, especially after a fight in October 2008 that started on South Campus and spread to the main campus, he said.

The fight got national media attention, and there were reports that shots were fired, though police later said those reports were untrue.

South Campus students are alienated from the main campus and lack representation in SGA, Rembert said.

He said he wants more student senators to visit the campus on a regular basis so students can see that the organization is diverse and serious about helping students.

At Friday’s forum, Smiley was the only SGA representative. He said he’s trying to reach out to as many students as he can by himself, but he plans to eventually have more representatives attend.

“It’s really unfortunate that students feel a sense of alienation,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be like that.

“I think we can make it better.”

Kendrick Bryan, SGA executive vice president, said scheduling conflicts and limited resources make it difficult for other senators to participate in the forums.

Chief of Staff Eric Smiley said Kevin Smiley is getting good feedback from the forums, and the students are happy because they have the opportunity to voice their concerns.

The forums are allowing SGA to branch out and meet diverse people that aren’t always present on the main campus, he said.

Kevin Smiley said he thought the forum went well overall, and he received some good suggestions from students.

Putting a 24-hour restaurant on main campus and making Adobe InDesign software available throughout campus were among the students’ suggestions at the most recent meeting.

“In the three times I’ve visited, I’ve talked to several dozen students who didn’t know what SGA does or what we can do to help them,” Kevin Smiley said. “I think if we are visible and physically there, it helps to an extent.”