The President’s Task Force on Undergraduate Life and Academics gave the NIU community several chances to air its grievances with the university in a series of open forums last semester.

Now, the time is near for the task force to give feedback about proposed solutions to campus problems.

The task force, which is composed of 28 student, faculty and staff members, meets this week to review notes and draft recommendations based on input received last semester. Various channels were used to inform the task force, including town hall forums, surveys, letters and e-mail submissions.

Task Force Chair Nolan Davis discussed some of the main issues being faced and how the various stages in the process are being handled.

“We want to have commentary on things the university is already doing to address concerns students brought up so that recommendations from the task force can be put into perspective,” he said.

Davis said some issues require more consideration while others are simply a matter of students taking advantage of existing opportunities.

“A lot of times, people complain about something that has already been solved,” Davis said.

An example Davis mentioned was student perceptions of the campus being unsafe at night. The Huskie Patrol is available to meet students and escort them from a far parking lot to the residence halls, he said. Students don’t always take advantage of this service. Davis said perhaps students may not call the service because they want to feel independent rather than relying on an escort.

Traffic safety and crime also are being addressed, but Davis said NIU is not as dangerous as some may think.

“The perception that Northern is not safe is well beyond the reality,” he said. “We have to address both the issue of safety and the perception.”

Parking was one of the most common problems addressed at the October town hall meetings.

“The issue is not total parking, but parking in specific areas,” Davis said.

The idea some have had about creating a parking deck at the Chick Evans Field House lot is not feasible, Davis said. Because of the lot’s incline, it could not support such a structure.

Academic advising is another issue the task force has focused on. Davis said solutions to advising problems depend on department density and structure, and some of the more complex issues may require more research.

Judd Baker, Holmes Student Center director and task force member, said students have voiced what they like and don’t like, and it’s up to the task force to listen.

“What we’re hoping for is — we know we can’t solve all the problems — but we’re hoping to address some of those concerns and what we think will work,” Baker said. “That’s all this task force is really trying to do.”

Baker said not every problem has a simple solution, but task force discussions have worked toward solving longer-term problems.

“They know it’s not going to be a utopia, but we think some good things will come out of it,” he said.