6A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2002
saferide
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Despite the stressful nights and late hours, Paar said her motivation for staying with Saferide was to help keep students off the road when they were intoxicated or too tired to drive.
"That's definitely a better motivation than the pay," she said.
Lawrence Bus Company night supervisor Eric Darnell and dispatcher Allison Raleigh joke about the upcoming shift ten minutes before Saferide begins its night. Saferide numbers have been steadily increasing over the past year, when it set a new record of 25,000 passengers.
Even though Paar was satisfied with her job at Saferide, she said her worst memory of the job was from last week.
"Somebody told me, I hope you die in a car accident tonight," she said. "I kind of laughed, but then he told me he was serious."
The conversation happened at about 2 a.m. as Paar was driving passengers home.
"He made sure I got him all the way home before he said it," she said.
Bob Buchanan, Lawrence resident, also drives for Saferide. In his six years on the job, Buchanan said there was little he had not seen.
"As far as the bad things go, I've been chased down the street by a bunch of guys and threatened for not taking a person to an address we aren't supposed to go to," he said.
Buchanan said Saferide can only give people rides to their homes.
Besides being a driver, Buchanan has also been responsible for alerting people when medical emergencies arise.
"I have found people passed out outside twice," he said. "Once, a guy was passed out in the middle of the road. I called in to my boss, and he called the ambulance."
In situations like this, Saferide drivers cannot touch passengers or help them into cars, said Eric Darnell, night supervisor for the Lawrence Bus Company, which provides insurance for the program. Darnell supervises Saferide drivers during their shifts.
If passengers cannot get into the car on their own, Darnell said they may not be able to get out either.
Darnell said drivers cannot get out of the car while on a call. This
is to assure the driver's safety, he said.
One of Allison Raleigh's most memorable experiences working for Saferide was when a passenger tried to persuade her to break this rule.
Raleigh, a former KU student, was a driver for about a year before becoming a dispatcher last semester.
"When I took this guy home, he said, 'Why don't we just pull
over and have a conversation?" she said. "I just told him we were really busy so I couldn't, but he got upset."
When Raleigh dropped him off, she said she spent a couple of minutes chatting with him in the car.
"Mostly people are just funny, and I usually like talking to them," she said. "Once a girl started rapping about how it was her 19th birthday and how she
Raleigh said she had noticed an increase this year in the amount of calls Saferide received every night.
"I worked this past Monday and we seemed really busy for a Monday night," she said.
had lost her purse."
Sateride's statistics support Raleigh's observation. Appleby said August's number of passengers reached 1,029, compared to last August's 831 passengers.
"We have a new aggressive ad campaign underway where ads for Saferide are hung in bathroom stalls in 15 locations around town," he said.
Appleby said the ads were located in bars and restaurants where lots of people needing a ride home would see them.
Saferide has not increased its staff, but Appleby said he hadn't noticed longer wait times for riders.
Though the Lawrence Bus Company provides insurance for Saferide, drivers provide their own liability insurance. Darnell
"I Take Saferide myself and the longest you may have to wait is 10 or 15 minutes," he said. "That's not bad for a free ride."
"Mostly people are just funny, and I usually like talking to them. Once a girl started rapping about how it was her 19th birthday and how she had lost her
purse."
Allison Raleigh Saferide driver
said drivers were not responsible for damage to the vehicles.
"If the accident is the driver's fault, we might have to let them go," he said.
Ben Koven, Overland Park senior, said he had had some good experiences in the month he has worked for Sateride. Koven said he liked hearing that people appreciate the service.
"One girl told me her sister got killed by a drunk driver and how much she appreciated us." he said. "It's nice hearing people tell you your job is worthwhile."
Edited by Nicole Roche.
Collage
CONTINUEDFROM PAGE 1A
"By having it so early, we hope it gives everyone a small taste of the wide variety of events," Oliver said. "Hopefully
they will come back and attend another concert."
Some of the performers include the Kansas Brass Quintet, the Men's Glee Club, and the University Dance Company.
Rachel Moses, Great Bend junior, said she practiced more
than 20 hours a week for the ballet portion since school started. This will be her second year in the show.
"The thrilling part of the concert is that it comes so soon." Moses said, "It's such a rush. The moment you step out on the
wing, you convey your art to hundreds of other people."
Vickie Hamilton-Smith, director of communications for the fine arts department, said the concert was also a fundraiser for the school. She said the school hoped to raise money
Last week, more than 550 art and design students constructed collages for the show. They created more than 400 pieces at the Art and Design Gallery in the
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for the Fine Arts Educational Enhancement Fund, which provides travel grants for students.
Art and Design building
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Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. To purchase tickets, call the Lied Center at (785) 864-2787.
- Edited by Melissa Shuman
785-832-2679
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