On Monday, Sept. 22, the Student Government Association (SGA) officially unveiled their newest project: a swingset.
Representatives of the SGA spoke about the inspiration for this new addition to campus.
“We were trying to brainstorm ideas of what would be fun, what would be exciting for people, what would make people want to engage,” SGA President Fiona Mundy ’26 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
The project was something that had been on students’ minds for a while, initially inspired by a Fizz post seen by SGA.
“It was coming up more and more in conversation to the point where I was like, ‘Huh, people really want a swingset,’” Secretary of Student Affairs Anna Grace ’26 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
Mundy and Grace spoke about the need for something fun to fill the in-between moments on campus.
“There’s lots of events on campus, but throughout the day… you kind of just walk to class, [or] to your dorm. There’s the volleyball courts and stuff like that, but that’s not a five-minute activity,” Mundy said.
“School can be hard and stressful, and so a swingset is just trying to relieve some of that tension and stress,” Grace added.
The swings were a significant investment for the college, coming in under budget at $25,000.
Grace spoke about the factors that went into that cost: “I think a lot of students struggle with understanding why it was as much as it was. There were a lot of things we had to purchase, like the water drainage system, engineered woodchips, concrete, which is really expensive, the swingset itself, labor, shipping, all of these things that came into it.”
Safety was also an important consideration when constructing the swingset.
“I was the one who insisted that if we’re going to put this in, we need to meet all the national playground safety standards,” said Director of Facilities Kevin Larson in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
“There’s over 12 inches of engineered wood chips to make [any falls] a soft landing,” Larson said.
The pair of wooden swings is located between Hoyme and Ytterboe Halls. In choosing a location for the swingset, SGA representatives, in collaboration with the College, considered multiple factors such as drainage, proximity to dorms, and the results of a student poll.
“The location worked out really good, so if we have water and heavy rain — the woodchips stay wet for a little bit — but it’s gonna drain off in that area,” Larson said. The location also has the added bonus of a sunset view on clear nights.
The swings could also be an opportunity for the campus to further connect with residents of Northfield.
“I hope that it increases community engagement on campus, especially with kids. A lot of kids are on campus for various summer activities, camps, and stuff like that, a lot of professors have kids,” Mundy said. “If we have more things that are fun and exciting for people to come to, then the Northfield community might venture up the hill a little more.”
Overall, SGA is optimistic about the positive impact the swingset will have on the campus community.
“Just something small and something fun that might increase the whimsy of campus a little bit,” Mundy said.
