Tuition: According to Gov. Martin O’Malley, the four-year freeze on college tuition in Maryland is expected to end, but the increase that he formerly proposed won’t be as high as expected. Tuition was a big topic of interest in debates involving those running for Maryland’s House of Delegates for the 42^nd District. Nationally, tuition for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities went up by 6.5 percent to $7,020 for 2009 – 10, according to the College Board. Since the recession, budget cuts have had to be made here at Towson. One of the most recent cuts being that Dowell Health Center no longer offers free HIV testing.

Towerlight Prediction: Having tuition go up never sounds like a good thing for any college student, with all the expenses we have to pay with food, books, housing, etc. And even now it’s not considered to be a great thing, but there may be a few benefits to this situation. Budget cuts come when less money circulates through universities. If Towson gets more funding from tuition, perhaps some of the things lost because of budget cuts will return or at least be on track to return in the coming years. It will be a difficult pill to swallow, especially for the students who pay their own way through college, but we’ll be seeing a majority of positives as a result.

Residence Halls: Next semester, students may no longer have to worry about the “myth” of housing eligibility, according to Jerry Dieringer, assistant vice president for student affairs. He said students generally believe that after you passed sophomore year, you’re pushed off campus. He said with 90 credits, which is typically achieved after junior year, students can return to request residency on campus.

Other housing changes include the addition of the Barton and Douglass houses in West Village. They are both set to open in the fall of 2011. Consequently, Richmond and Newell halls will close down in the fall of 2011 for building renovations.

Towerlight Prediction: While many will be sad to see Richmond and Newell close for renovations, new housing opportunities are probably for the best. Think about it. Just that word “new” means a fresh start and a whole different experience. On the flip side, we’ve seen a melting pot of architectural designs on campus. Combining new with the old, as in West Village with “old side,” students are saying the campus makes no sense. Unless they give Richmond and Newell an outer face-lift to fit the state-of-the-art designs of the newer halls, students and faculty will continue to pitch their arguments.

SGA Elections: This spring, the Student Government Association will hold their annual elections. With a majority of this year’s executive board graduating from Towson, the stage is open for potential candidates and tickets to run for the executive positions, as well as senator seats. Tuesday, the SGA attempted passed a resolution that would have changed a few parts of their election policy. Senator Marissa Guy attempted to have the ticket policy changed so that two to five members could run for positions on the same ticket, but the motion was failed. A new policy on stopping banner campaigning during SGA meetings was passed.

Towerlight Prediction: Since positions will be up for grabs and new candidates will not have to worry about incumbents for many spots, a bold prediction would be the University seeing a new spin on things. With new leaders come new ideas. As Towson continues to advance as a university, the opportunities and possibilities increase as well.

It’s probable that we’ll see a number of heated tickets this year, do to many students wanted to see different initiatives and goals put into place. Since a new policy on stopping banner campaigning passed this semester, we may be seeing campaign violations in the spring with candidates not being aware or considering the campaigning policies.

Lighting Additions: Towson looks to begin a new plan by the spring semester that would replace and upgrade more than 30,000 lights on campus. A range of 1,500 to 2,000 of those lights will be Light Emitting Diodes, or LED lights, which use half as many watts or less than incandescent lights and have no hazardous materials such as mercury inside them.

According to Steven Kolb, energy manager at the university, there will also be a total of 10,000 occupancy sensors, which turn lighting on and off depending if someone is present in a room, will be spread around campus.

Towerlight Prediction: The lights might put a new shine on Towson’s campus. Currently the lights are a bit dim during the nights and hide just how well the campus looks during after hours. More importantly, it could help a few safety issues as well. With more lights around, students will have a clearer vision, which helps them be aware of their surroundings.

As for the LED lights and occupancy sensors, Towson is looking to increase their  “green” initiatives, so a few costs will be saved with the additions. This could also deem the potential to save money in the long run with energy and cost-saving light bulbs.

Winter season: It’s been one year after the “Snowmageddon,” and only a few flakes have make an appearance this winter. It was the largest winter storm for the U.S. in more than 90 years, and Maryland received the third heaviest snowfall, reaching more than 24 inches. Postal services suspended all services, roofs collapsed and many roads were closed or impassable.

Currently, no reports of extreme snowfall have been reported, despite the recent cold front that’s swept into Baltimore.

Towerlight Prediction: For those hoping another two weeks of being blocked in, getting extra sleep and catching up on homework, don’t get your hopes up. With no signs from recent news weather forecast from around the state, students will have to prepare for a full semester this spring.

Students will want to pull out all of their warm clothes, but buying an extra pair of snow boots and ski goggles for the snowy hills on campus may not be necessary. Regardless of how little snow will fall this season, when the first official storm does occur, students will be out and about with their dining hall trays, jumping into whatever dusting they can find.