In mid-October, bright red and yellow chairs began making an appearance throughout campus.

These chairs were the idea of the former Student Government Association (SGA) president DJ Duve and current president Jailyn Seabrooks. Seabrooks and Duve noticed a lack of outdoor seating for students and pushed for new improvements.

“It was originally our two ideas and then the alumni board also helped us with the project,” Seabrooks said. “UNI’s campus has some big yellow and purple Adirondack chairs. I had visited their campus last fall and saw those. When DJ and I started discussing outdoor seating for Simpson, that was our inspiration.”

The total cost of the chairs equaled out at around $10,000, with each chair costing $500 apiece. Part of the hefty price tag for the chairs comes from the sustainability of the chairs as well as the durability.

“There were a lot of factors that were really important to us when we were looking at what chairs we wanted to buy,” Seabrooks said. “One of those was sustainability. The chairs are made out of recycled milk jugs and once they wear out, they will be recycled again.”

Some students may recall several hammocks outside of Pfeiffer hall last year. These chairs serve as a more functional form of outdoor seating than those hammocks.

Much like the hammocks, the chairs will be brought in once the first snowfall hits and will return in the spring.

“With the hammocks, there were a lot of safety concerns,” Seabrooks said. “Students were getting drunk and falling out of them, they also were torn up very quickly and lasted only a semester before they were broken. We’re trying to find a solution, maybe placing some between trees, but to us, it’s not worth spending the money on something that’s going to be broken.”

So far, the chairs have been used quite often by students. Some students enjoy the chairs, but some find them to be a waste.

“The chairs were a nice idea and definitely added to the charm and overall look of the campus,” junior David Robinson said. “However, they’re only useful at certain times of the year. Currently, it’s not very practical to use them. As much as we take pride in aesthetics, I’m sure the majority of students would have preferred internal maintenance rather than colorful stickers on the outside.”

Sophomore Lani Cruse’s concerns lie mostly with the practicality of doing homework in the chairs.

“In my experience, the Wi-Fi often doesn’t reach where the chairs are,” Cruse said. “Sometimes I don’t even have Wi-Fi when I’m walking between classes let alone when I’m trying to do homework outside. There are more chairs then there were hammocks, so I think this is a good idea in terms of that.”

Students are encouraged to share comments about the location or the chairs, or the chairs in general, at this link: https://scstudentactivitiesandorgs.wufoo.com/forms/m1o6n8lc0cuem20/