Submitted art from the Crossing Mural contest will be on display from April 12-15 (SARAH POTTHARST/The Daily Campus)

This past weekend, during SMU’s Spring Arts Festival, Hughes-Trigg Student Center experienced an increase in traffic and participation not only from students, but parents as well. The staff at Hughes-Trigg hopes to maintain that level of involvement and is working to make sure that students always feel welcome.

This year, in addition to the annual Student Art Contest, students also have the option of submitting an idea or sketch for a redesign of the Crossing mural, located to the side of the Commons. Hughes-Trigg will supply all the materials and a prize of $100 to the winning student, or group of students, with the selected sketch to replace the current Dallas skyline. In this way, the students have an opportunity to decide what they want their student center to look like.

The Student Art Contest itself, which will be open in the next couple of weeks, is a way to include student contribution. The contest is open to all students for a first prize of $150. Submitted art will be displayed in the Commons from April 12-15 for judging by both selected judges and SMU students.

The winning piece is then displayed in Hughes-Trigg as a permanent decoration. Rather than decorating the building with miscellaneous sculptures or pictures, the goal of this contest is to create a student center made by its students, according to Hughes-Trigg marketing manager Mariana Sullivan.

However, students see Hughes-Trigg as more than just a building for decoration; the staff at Hughes-Trigg works for services and programs to get students involved and comfortable.  Starting this week, the M Lounge will offer 30 to 40 new games, donated by GameStop, to supplement the current selection. All will be brand new, current and popular games to provide more of a variety beyond the existing options.

Also in the M Lounge, students can keep up with March Madness and watch every game on the TV sets in HD. The TVs will show all the games, with one always playing on the large screen. As games progress, students can change the displayed bracket as well and stay updated with the scores.

All new services and programs provided are in response to student feedback.

“It’s all about the students,” Sullivan said.  Due to this feedback, Hughes-Trigg, in collaboration with Aramark and Dining Services, was able to open the Market until midnight Monday through Thursday.

This feedback is received through Hughes-Trigg’s annual survey, which is now available on the SMU Web site. Here students can evaluate cleanliness, response time and quality, as well as give suggestions for events, lounge space and other services.

“We want students to feel welcome,” Sullivan said, “and that it is really their student center.”