Cornell College is upgrading student study tools on campus with plans to install whiteboards in designated study rooms across residence halls.

The idea was pitched by a first-year student to Student Senate President Veronica Schuchart. Prior to this proposal, there were no whiteboards available in dorm study rooms, limiting collaborative study options for students.

At the Student Senate meeting on Feb. 24, Schuchart outlined the first steps of the process. She explained that measurements will be taken in each of the 13 study rooms to determine appropriate whiteboard sizes. The goal is to order identical boards for each space through campus facilities.

Two Student Senate members volunteered to assist with measuring the rooms. They will coordinate with Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Daniel Chou to gain access to all residence halls for a day. Schuchart said this approach will help ease the workload for facilities staff.

Funding for the project will come from the student activity fee, which is paid by every enrolled student each semester. As of Fall 2025, the fee is $262 per semester. The Student Senate allocates these funds to student organizations and campus projects.

Because the whiteboards were directly requested by a student and are intended to benefit the broader student body, the Senate determined that student activity fee funds would be appropriate for the purchase. While the Residence Life office maintains a budget for residence hall maintenance, additional student-requested improvements are typically funded through the activity fee.

Cornell has 11 residence halls, and students are strongly encouraged to live on campus all four years, although off-campus housing is available through an application process.

Schuchart said she does not yet have a firm timeline for installation.

“It depends on how much time they have,” she said, noting recent staffing changes in the facilities department that make scheduling uncertain. “It might be something that they push into the summer as a task for them to do then, but ideally [installing the whiteboards] before the end of the year.”

Schuchart expressed optimism about the project’s impact.

“I want to see students using the whiteboards, studying, acing their tests,” she said.

Whether installed later this semester or during the summer months, the addition of whiteboards will provide new collaborative study tools for students in residence halls.

The Student Senate’s next meeting will be held March 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Thomas Commons on the Orange Carpet.