NORMAL — Illinois State University alumnus Jack Ritter would like to see better aesthetics and a stronger sense of history across the campus.

Sophomore Jessica Hall believes the university needs a more student-friendly student center.

Ritter and Hall submitted those opinions Tuesday at ISU Alumni Center during the first of three public forums on its campus master plan.

Developing an energy-conserving, environmentally friendly campus and improving facilities were frequent themes among the opinions gathered.

Dan Layzell, ISU vice president for finance and planning, cited changes in the economic environment and developments in the Twin Cities, specifically the uptown Normal and Main Street Corridor projects, as reasons to update the master plan, which was last revised 10 years ago.

“Any good plan is not a static document. It requires reflection, revision and an update from time to time,” Layzell said.

After a brief presentation, attendees were asked to answer five survey questions. The questions were intended to find what people like about the ISU campus, what features need to be enhanced or changed and what improvements should be made in the next five  to 10 years.

“There needs to be a sense of history — there used to be a number of museums on campus — and I think from a student point of view they lost some of that,” said Ritter, a retired zookeeper who lives near ISU.

“I feel that our Bone Student Center needs to be more student-centered. Right now I feel as if it’s a giant mass of conference rooms,” added Hall, treasurer for the Association of Residence Halls.

Additional forums are set for 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Bone Student Center’s Old Main Room and 2 p.m. Thursday at the new Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in uptown Normal.

More information, including the survey questions, is available at www.masterplan.ilstu.edu.

Layzell, who noted the importance of a partnership with Normal and Bloomington, stressed ISU planners have no preconceived notions about public opinion.

“We really want to use this as an opportunity to get public input,” he said.