OPINION
7A
FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Let gas prices drive you to mass transit
Even though gas prices have waxed and waned recently, they seem to have temporarily settled around $3.55 in Kansas, a 30 percent increase from last year, according to GasBuddy.com.
Luckily, KU students last year voted to pass a referendum that opened bus transport to all with the addition of a student fee. With these changes, students can move toward negating at least two long lasting complaints, a lack of parking on campus and the high price of gas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
More importantly, though, students can move towards instilling a progressive support for public transit at the University and in Lawrence.
Starting with the first day of school, students can board buses on campus without needing to show any ID. Students catching the bus off campus must provide a KUID. The Lawrence Public Transit System, known as the T, is also free to students who have the updated KUID.
All of these moves are designed to increase bus ridership and should resolve longstanding grievances about parking on campus.
Parking issues have become especially contentious since construction of a football practice facility began. During construction, 667 parking spots were supposed to be replaced, but 222 spots still have not been replaced Even back in 2005, Chance Management Associates, a professional parking consultant, said parking on campus was inadequate.
Regardless of talk from the Parking or Athletics departments, parking will always be limited on a campus built on a hill. Buses hold the long-term key to parking problem on campus.
Most of the failures of mass transit come from a lack of information about how the system works. KU On Wheels should increase knowledge about routes and times to the student body by distributing maps on campus or including a prominent link on the University's homepage. Student understanding and acceptance of the system is critical to ensuring the success of public transit.
The city of Lawrence, especially south of 23rd Street and west of Iowa Street, has been
designed for the car. Miles of roads paved the way for expansion into western and southern Lawrence and the construction of massive student apartment complexes. All of this has led to sprawl and low population density: the twin enemies of effective public transit.
Although mass transit is especially important for international students, who typically don't own cars, it benefits anyone who would otherwise pay for gas. Reducing overall gas consumption in Lawrence would also help the city maintain its environmentally friendly mantra.
Students may hold the key to saving the T, which will be scrapped if a sales tax is not passed on the November ballot. If students increase their use of the KU bus system and the T, they would see the necessity to save Lawrence's only method of mass transit.
Alone, Lawrence's T System has not been effective at reducing the number of drivers coming to campus. The University and the city of Lawrence have discussed integrating their systems, but current efforts have stalled in the face of possible financial problems for the T.
Students should take advantage of a system that they are required to pay for. Many students come from cities where public transit isn't a viable option, but by experimenting with the KU and city bus systems, they may find a few less issues to complain about.
-Alex Doherty for the editorial board
@KANSAN.COM
What do you think?
What do you think?
Leave your comments online or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
RECENT COMMENTS @KANSAN.COM
Do our cops really need to use Segways? ("Campus police go green," Aug. 21) Can't they just walk or ride a bike? What about when they have to arrest someone? How will that work out with a Segway?
They could have spent our $15,000 better — on programs that actually work or hiring additional security forces. Buying bicycles for campus cops would have been a lot cheaper — probably in the neighborhood of $1,500.
—excerpted from a comment by sjschlag
for those incoming freshmen (Fans get sneak peek of football practice, Aug. 21). The Athletics Department's work on this monstrosity not only was a burden to those trying to get to and from classes, (especially those in the Spencer) but it has demonstrated its complete disregard for what the real Jay-hawks need. I'm talking about those of us who attend class, do our own work, and work hard to have stable careers and futures from the work done on our backs and not on everyone else. We came after you last year, and we're coming after you again. Thanks for the ammunition.
—excerpted from a comment by Banemaler
Quite an example the Athletics Department is setting
Empty lot
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Length: 300-400 words
The submission should include the author's name, phone number, grade, hometown.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinion@kansan.com
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
CONTACT US
Length: 300-400 words
Matt Erickson, editor
R64-4B10 or merickson@kansan.com.
Mark Dent, managing editor
864-4810 or mdent@kansan.com
Lauren Keith, opinion editor
864-4924 or keith@kansan.com
Kelsey Hayes, managing editor R64-4810 or khaves@kansan.com
Dani Hurst, managing editor
864.4810 or dhurst@kansan.com
Jordan Herrmann, business manager
864-4358 or jherrmann@kansan.com
Patrick de Oliveira, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or pdeolliveira@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
Toni Bergquist, sales manager
864-4477 or tberqquist@kansan.com
FROM THE DRAWING BOARD
Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jschlitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Edward Board are Alex Doherty, Jenny Harter, Lauren Keith, Patrick Oversea, Revise Seebach and Ian Stanford.
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager an
If America is addicted to oil then we're addicted to corn. And as with oil, those with the lowest incomes are hit the hardest when prices of gasoline and food go up.
Grocery store prices show problems with ethanol
MARIAM SAIFAN
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
As college students, a lot of us are in that low-income bracket.
Investment in alternative energy sources is a good thing, but only provided that those alternatives are better than what we have now.
Mangiaracina is a Lenexa senior in journalism.
Other countries have started using both for energy. Brazil has taken the lead on sugar cane ethanol, and France produces beet-based ethanol.
However, since its unlikely ethanol use is going to go away entirely, it would at least make more sense if the United States abandoned corn-based ethanol and started using other crops, such as sugar cane or beets. Both crops are about twice as energy efficient as corn and beets don't have the problem like corn and sugar do with competing with the food supply.
Though the corn ethanol industry is not going to disappear overnight, eliminating the subsidies for it and mixing requirements are the first two steps in encouraging alternatives. According to Slate magazine, subsidies paid for ethanol were $37 billion from 1995 to 2003.
Don't worry though, the government has your back. Washington has responded to the problem with another solution in the form of stimulus checks. Wait, you already spent yours?
but his request was rejected. Citing skyrocketing corn feed prices, Perry argued the ethanol mandate was bankrupting cattle producers in his state.
To make matters worse, while people are increasingly experiencing "sticker shock" at the grocery store, the government continues to encourage the use of ethanol through subsidies and mixing requirements. Along with the increase in the price of oil, America's increasing reliance on corn ethanol has significantly increased the cost of food.
Ignoring that it's less fuel efficient than gasoline, requires more energy to produce than is gained and that it won't support the amount of fuel necessary to fuel the economy, at best the use of
corn-based ethanol has saved no money. Any money claimed to be saved at the pump as been lost at the grocery store.
Poultry, beef, pork, cereal, soft drinks and many juices also rely heavily on corn products in their production. Corn for fuel is increasingly competing with corn for food.
So not only are taxpayers paying to pay more at the grocery store, but are headed to pay even more for higher prices as the corn supply is further strained. Last year, The Boston Globe reported that food prices were increasing at the fastest rate since 1990.
In December, Congress increased the amount of ethanol that states are required to mix in gasoline. The new bill mandates that 36 billion gallons of ethanol be mixed with gasoline by 2020. That's 27 billion gallons more than the 2009 requirement.
In 2006, a bushel of corn was $2,
but this June it reached more than
$7 a bushel. However, instead of
rolling back the ethanol subsidies,
which would lower the price of
food, the government has gone in
the opposite direction.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent the last few months unsuccessfully lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency to cut the ethanol requirement to Texas in half,
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
THE CONTEXT
Here's some of the most important information that you may have missed from this week's Kansan. Check out kansan.com for full stories and to leave comments.
The number of football players you will see practicing on the newly constructed football fields. THE BIG PICTURE
Because the new fields can be clearly seen from nearby streets, coach Mark Mangino moved practices to the slightly-more-seccluded-but-not-really Memorial Stadium to keep apparently classified plays from being leaked. The lines painted on the field look similar enough to lines in a parking lot, so maybe students can reclaim some of our lost territory.
FLICKR.COM
THE BIG PICTURE
THE CONTEXT
THE CONTEXT The amount, in dollars, for three new Segway scooters used by campus police
THE BIG PICTURE
Although the University should take the environment into consideration when purchasing new vehicles, the best way to go green is not to drive any vehicles when possible. Even electric vehicles are indirectly polluting because Lawrence's electricity comes from a coal-fired power plant. Student Senate paid at least part of the cost of the Seqwaves.
THE CONTEXT
THE BIG PICTURE
The number of DUI and OUI arrests by the Lawrence Police Department last year.
The Lawrence Police Department has stepped up patrols to monitor drunk driving for six years, but the program lasts only at the beginning of the fall semester, and this year will end Sept. 1. To be more effective, Lawrence and campus police should have sobriety checkpoints more frequently and randomly throughout the year.
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call 785-864-0500.
While reading the campus survival guide, I was attacked by a zombie mob.
--with you.
Who is the construction on campus benefiting besides the money-hogging developers?
--with you.
KU should implement a policy that if you aren't smart enough to figure out the fourway stops, you aren't going to college anymore.
--with you.
--with you.
Maury should change the name of his shows to "Is He the Father?"
He always sends me messages when he misses her. I should have ignored him. I'm worth more than being some guy's "go-to-girl."
Thank you, Parking Depart ment. I parked in the garage and was there way past my time on the first day of class, and you didn't ticket me.
Thanks so much!
Epic fail.
--with you.
--map.
--map.
Free for All, I love you but these classes are just stressing me out way too much already. I'm sorry but I'm breaking up with you.
It's a new semester, a beautiful day, the ladies are back, and White Owl has returned. Life is good!
--map.
Freshmen, I realize that
Freshmen, I realize that making the transition to college can be a difficult one. However, with that transition comes certain responsibilities. Please do not get on the wrong bus, and then expect the driver to drop you off at the dorms. Read the damn
--unbelievable.
Don't be nervous. Welcome to KUJ
--unbelievable.
Third floor Watson Library got a makeover. Check it out.
--unbelievable.
What's funny is most of you pre-med students will never make it into med school, yet you walk around so proudly with your shirts and made-up
--unbelievable.
To the "made up major" person: It's called an interest code like pre-business, pre-journalism and whatever else.
You ignored me when I needed you the most, but you'll write on my wall for something pointless? You're unbelievable.
---
Want more? Check out Free for All online.
---