The Student Senate approved a proposal for $26,000 to install a swing set on campus on April 8. The swing set will have two seats and will be located at one of two locations — either outside of CAD or outside of Hoyme — pending approval from the President’s Leadership Team. The new addition to St. Olaf’s outdoor space will be installed over the summer and ready for use by the 2025-26 academic year.
Secretary of Marketing and Communications Fiona Mundy ’26 and Chief of Staff Anna Grace ’26 were excited to propose the swing set to the Senate after hearing the suggestion from several students. Both Mundy and Grace wanted to make sure that student input and ideas were considered when spending money from SGA’s Project and Capitals Fund. They considered several locations and types of swings, gathering information from polls posted on social media.
Before drafting the proposal, Mundy and Grace met with many campus administrators. Those who lent them guidance in the project included Kevin Larson, deans of the college, Residence Life, and the President’s Leadership Team.
They soon discovered, however, that the swings would require more funds than originally anticipated.
“There are a lot of safety protocols you have to meet when it comes to building commercial swing sets. We have to have the special wood chips under the swing sets, [the swing set area] has to be a certain amount of feet total, [and] we have to figure out a water drainage system,” Grace said.
Several required features to ensure safety, proper installation, and upkeep for the swings were taken into account in the proposal’s budget, including a concrete curb around the structure, wood chips, a drainage system, labor, installation, delivery, and cost contingency.
When asked what students should know about the new project, Mundy said, “Get excited about it! I’m excited about it. It will be a fun space for people to relax and hang out with their friends. It’s a different vibe. Other colleges have swing sets, and people use them, and a lot of kids come to campus over the summer. It will make our campus more enjoyable for everybody.”
