Plans for a residence hall and parking garage have come to light.

Vice President of Student Affairs Levester Johnson unveiled a few residence hall floor plans at the Student Government Association meeting on Oct. 24 for representatives to discuss.

Administrators and SGA have a huge opportunity to connect to students by involving them in the planning process.

This change can bring the community together by incorporating everyone’s voice while developing the building.

To allow this public forum to happen, administrators, SGA officials and anyone involved in the development process need to market the events.

If and when administrators publicly present blueprints for this project, they should inform the entire student body so everyone can voice an opinion.

Students have a deep and undeniable stake in this project.

Students invest in university projects with tuition dollars.

Finances aside, students have several other reasons to be involved in this process.

If students feel they have a direct impact on aspects of the building, they will likely feel much better about the future state of the university.

The idea of leaving a visible legacy is especially appealing for students.

It would be incredible to return to Butler as an alumnus and point out a building that you helped create.

Perhaps most importantly, the student body’s college  experience would bring a needed perspective in how the building is constructed.

Students may have a different opinion than administrators and trustees about how the project should develop.

Due to the high stakes students have in this plan, the administration must ensure that students have many opportunities to voice their ideas.

Butler University’s small size and connectedness make it simple to gather student input.

Administrators could send out a survey over BUmail to get ideas from students.

They should also use BUmail to publicize future meetings and events about the developing projects.

More public forum events, similar to President Jim Danko’s discussion about the Student Strategic Vision last week, should be formed to discuss these changes.

If another discussion about developing building plans happens at SGA, members could let campus know through the organization’s Twitter account.

When these significant discussions happen at SGA, officers should publish the minutes through either the Butler Connection or BUmail for those who miss the meeting.

No matter how the leaders on campus decide to incorporate the student body in these decisions, they should not pass up the opportunity to do so.

Otherwise, they miss a chance to bring the Butler community together to make vital positive changes for the community.

The poorly- planned game could have raised more for charity.

Hopefully, Indianapolis can host a Super Bowl again in the near future so the Gridiron Celebrity Hoops XIV charitable basketball game can do a better job of getting its act together.

The Saturday event as a whole came off as if half of it was planned beforehand and the other half was made up on the fly, without much thought.

The fact that more people did not pack into Hinkle  to see the 2012 Gridiron Celebrity Hoops XIV charity basketball game is a shame.

The organizers missed an opportunity to market Saturday’s game to Butler University students who would be more than interested in seeing some of their favorite celebrities face off in nearby Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Stars like Terrell Owens, J. Cole and Dez Bryant were headlining the game, and the teams consisted of a good mix of people from big stars like Owens and Cole to locals such as Pastor Jeffrey Johnson, which gave the game a special connection to Indianapolis.

The addition of several dance performances by a local children’s dance group furthered that connection.

Other celebrities such as R&B singer Ciara and musician Stevie Wonder were also in attendance at the game.

The best part about the game is that it supported National Foster Care and American Foster Care—two charities that help thousands of children around the country annually.

Students and community members should have flocked to fill the fieldhouse to support charity and see the game—they didn’t.

A lack of advertising guarenteed a lower draw of Butler students and community members.

Even on Butler’s campus many students had no idea it was going on, even though all Butler students got half off for their tickets.

The marketing of the game to the greater community was poor as well.

I saw no TV commercials, and heard nothing on the radio about a game that was so star-studded.

The Butler Connection was the only formal advertising tool that I saw used for the game.

For an event that the people hosting tried to make so official and spectacular, they did not carry themselves that way.

Event coordinator Juli Jordan could not be reached before or after the game for a comment.

The event itself came across just as half-hearted.

Yes, they had notable celebrities participating or acting at the game, and they made an attempt to connect with the community by bringing in local faces, but they didn’t focus enough on the details like timing and accurate promotion.

The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but didn’t really get underway until 7:45.

Although there were plenty of stars at the game, I was anticipating a personal idol of mine, Rasheed Wallace, to participate, like the website advertised that he would.

The game itself could also have been constructed to be more interesting.

The more than 30-point blowout was dull and painful at times to watch.

Seeing Luis Da Silva, a popular streetballer, horribly miss layups and UFC star Chris Lytle turn the ball over to give Dez Bryant another three-pionter or a fast break dunk got old quickly.

Judging the talent of each individual celebrity is probably difficult, but the group organizing the event could have done a much better job picking the teams.

The winning team had two professional athletes and two former NCAA Division I athletes, while the other team had a retired NBA star leading the team.

While the money went to a worthwhile cause, and it was mostly enjoyable, the management and organization was lacking, and the event could have made a bigger splash.

Jim Danko’s installation ceremony on Saturday at Clowes Memorial Hall was a historical event, full of the pomp and circumstance that the Butler University community expected.

After months of wondering how exactly Danko planned to imagine all the possibilities at this institution, I waited on pins and needles to see what—if anything—Danko would announce during his inaugural address.

By the end of the address, audience members’ curiosities were definitely satiated.

The only problem with the installation ceremony on Saturday? No one saw it.

There couldn’t have been more than 500 people sitting in attendance at Clowes.

More students should have taken an hour or two to witness the inauguration.

After seeing the installation advertised in the Butler Connection, on poster boards, in emails and on the covers of numerous issues of The Collegian, there really was no excuse not to know when and where the event was happening and that the entire Butler community was invited.

If you missed the installation, you missed Butler’s leaders, as well as a U.S. senator, express their views of Danko.

If you missed the ceremony, you missed the chance to see former president Bobby Fong adorably singing the Alma Mater.

But most importantly, if you missed the installation, you missed Danko’s announcement of a $5 million idea fund that he and his wife personally have invested in, designed to put great ideas from the Butler community on a funding fast track.

Student Government Association President Al Carroll said he has plenty of ideas for the $5 million fund but would be excited to hear from the rest of the student body about their ideas for where the money should go.

“As soon as he announced it, my mind started running a thousand miles a minute,” Carroll said.

Regardless of whether students attended the event, they should take their ideas to Carroll, or any administrator who will listen, especially because students who attended the event have a leg up on coming up with Butler’s next great idea.

The purpose of attending the inauguration ceremony wasn’t for students to hear about how great Butler is. It was a time for students to get excited about the school’s future possibilities.

The inauguration of a new president doesn’t happen every day. Since Fong’s inauguration was 10 years ago, unless a student is taking a 10th victory lap at Butler, they haven’t seen anything like it.

Parts of Danko’s inaugural address are available online at www.thebutlercollegian.com. If you happened to miss the event, go check them out, and then start developing ideas to send to Danko about how he should spend parts of that $5 million idea fund, or another student who made it over to Clowes Saturday morning will beat you to it.