THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2008
NEWS
3A
》 CAMPUS
Coalition prioritizes parking
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
United Students names second platform
Student Senate coalition United Students wants to give students free parking in the Kansas Union parking garage. The coalition proposed to make parking in the top level of the garage free after 5 p.m.on weekdays so students can go to night meetings and classes more easily.United Students also want to make the entire garage free on basketball game days because basketball fans take many other spots on campus.
BY BRENNA HAWLEY
bhawley@kansan.com
Allowing free parking in the garage attached to the Kansas Union is United Students' second platform.
Students who have a valid parking pass can park in the garage during weekdays.
The coalition wants to open the top level of the garage to free parking every weekday after 5 p.m. Students must pay to park at the garage all day and night during the week, but it is free on weekends.
They also want to open the entire garage for free on basketball game days. If elected, United Students will propose this measure next fall with hopes to implement it by Spring 2009.
Michael Gillaspie, Ashland junior and United Students vice presidential candidate, said many groups held meetings in the Kansas Union after 5 p.m. but still had to pay for parking.
He said the coalition was trying to make campus more accessible to off-campus students. The night campus express bus is free for students and departs from the Kansas Union to take students to locations around campus.
Adam McGonigle, Wichita sophomore and United Students presidential candidate, said the Kansas Union parking garage was one of the only places on campus that students still had to pay to park in at night.
"It itkes so much time to drive all over campus looking for that one spot at night, and there is an entire garage that sits virtually empty," McGonigle said.
McGonigle said that during basketball games, fans took most other spots on campus because they were closer to Allen Fieldhouse.
Gillaspie said other things happened on campus during basketball games, and free parking in the
garage would give these people an easy place to park.
"During basketball games, students still have mid-terms," Gillaspie said.
May Davis, transportation coordinator for the Parking Department and member of United Students, said any proposal from United Students had to go through the Parking Commission. Davis, Clay Center sophomore, said the commission was made up of students, faculty and staff and that it made all parking and transit decisions that are later implemented by the Parking Department. McGonigle said that he spoke with Davis before forming his platform, but that it wasn't her idea.
Davis also said the new Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center next to the Kansas Union increased the number of people at the Kansas Union at night.
"The Kansas Union is such a hub of activity, and the fact that it's not at the center of campus is a problem," Davis said.
She said the campus night express bus helped with that, but it departed from the front of the Kansas Union, not from Mississippi Street where yellow parking lots were. She said free parking in the Kansas Union would help facilitate the increased traffic.
Danny Kaiser, assistant director of the Parking Department, said allowing free parking in the garage would affect the budget, but he didn't know how much. He said the department had to do a study to see how much money it made from the parking garage to know how much it would be affected. He said the department did make money from the garage, where people have to pay to park at all times during weekdays.
Kaiser said the department took out a bond to pay for the parking garage in 1999. As of June 30, 2007, there was more than $5 million left
to pay on the garage. It originally cost more than $11 million and is planned to be paid off by 2014.
McGonigle said that United Students realized the department had to pay off the garage, but also said the department was very cooperative in finding better parking for students.
Free parking in the Kansas Union parking garage was a platform for the KUnited coalition in Spring 2005. Davis said it probably
didn't pass then because the parking commission didn't like the idea. She said the commission members changed each year, so proposals passed depending on the makeup of the commission.
Kaiser said that parking had never been free at the Kansas Union parking garage after 5 p.m. on weekdays, but was free on weekends.
—Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
》 ENVIRONMENT
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Sustainable carpet, such as the carpet used at Oliver Hall, is one way the University cuts down on waste.
Sustainability starts with the carpet
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
The carpet was produced by Interface, a company dedicated to sustainable business practices.
Housing maintenance took advantage of a student-free Oliver Hall during spring break to install environmentally friendly carpet.
Ray Anderson, founder of Interface, pledged in 1995 that Interface would become the world's first entirely sustainable company by 2020. He pledged to ban the use of petroleum in Interface carpet manufacturing and has developed carpet fibers that can be more easily recycled.
Anderson will speak about sustainability tonight at 7:30 in Woodruff Auditorium.
Lorraine Malone, coordinator of Housing Maintenance, said the eco-friendly Interface carpet had been in Oliver and GSP-Corbin Halls for at least three years.
"It's great for us," Malone said. "From the cleanability to the waste and cost factors."
One factor that makes the carpet less wasteful, Malone said, is the ease with which it can be replaced. The carpet is installed as tiles that range in size from 20 square inches to 24 square inches. The removable tiles allow spills and stains in residence halls to be cleaned by replacing individual carpet pieces rather than recarpet-
ing an entire room.
Malone also said waste associated with carpet had been abated by a state-initiated carpet-recycling program introduced last year. The program ensures that carpet from KU buildings get recycled and reused, instead of ending up in landfills.
Eco-friendly cleaning products used by Custodial Services in the Kansas Union also support sustainability on campus.
Kirby Ostrander, custodial supervisor at the Kansas Union, said he introduced sustainable products to Custodial Services' cleaner collection after attending a green cleaning seminar six years ago.
One of the sustainable cleaners, called H2Orange2, replaced many of the aerosols and chemical-laden cleaners that KU custodians had been using. H2Orange2, which contains orange oil and hydrogen peroxide, does not have the harmful compounds such as chlorine and bleach found in many cleaning products.
Studie Red Corn, Shawnee senior and member of the student environmental advisory board, said the University had made vast improvements in terms of sustainability.
"We're getting to a tipping point," he said. "I feel like things are picking up, and there's a whole lot getting ready to happen."
—Edited by Russell Davies
funded by:
SENATE
STUDENT
March 26, 2008
FOR COMMENTS, INFO MORE...
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
Start and End at Maceli's, 1031 New Hampshire.
Registration 7-8am. Stretch and run with Red Dog, at 7:50am. Walk steps off at 8am.
One mile Walk and 5K Walk/Run.
A full breakfast, sponsored by NetworQ, will be served for returning participants from 8:30-10am.
Registration is online at www.douglascountyaidsproject.org
Awards Ceremony 10am.
FACE THE FEAR!
JAM AIESEC in exploring the people and the culture of Latin America
There will be free food, music and a panel of speakers
Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 pm at the First Presbyterian Church
united of town on 23rd street
AIESEC H
Saturday, April 12th
AIESEC
FACE THE PREJUDICE
Contest Details:
- Photographs must have been shot outside the United States.
- Only printed photographs may be entered (8x10, 8x12).
- Any KU alumni, students, staff, faculty, or scholars may enter.
- Each contestant may enter up to six prints.
- There is no entry fee for active members of Phi Beta Delta.
- The entry fee for all other contestants is $3 per photo.
- There will once again be great prizes for the award winners.
- Winning and Noteworthy Photos will be displayed on campus.
- Selected photos may be published, with credit to the photographer.
- Photographs must have been shot outside the United States.
Only printed photographs may be entered (8x10, 8x12).
For Complete Photo Contest Rules and Contest Entry Forms, go to: http://www.international.ku.edu/~qip/pbd/photos/
WHO IS LATIN AMERICA?
- The deadline for entries is Friday, March 30th.
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Attention Local Bands!
McCollum Residence hall is putting on a Battle of the Bands
Grand Prize $500!
Any Band can win the only rule is someone in the band must reside in Student Housing
Please bring all demos to McCollum front desk or contact us at bigmacbotb@yahoo.com or Casty@ku.edu
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KU NPHC and Eli Lilly Present:
Stomp the Hill Step Show
March 29th, 2008 at 7:00
Lied Centers
Tickets Available at Lied Center Box Office
JA Office Murphy Hall Box Office www.lied.ku.ed
EVENT: "RAGS TO RICHES" CHARITY BALL
DATE: Saturday, April 19 // TIME: 7pm-9:45pm LOCATION: Gridiron Room at the Burge Union
HOSTED BY: National junior scholars & KU Honor Society PURPOSE: Fundraiser event for the Lawrence Humane Society. All you have to bring are a donation of old towels & rags! Monetary donations are accepted. INFO: This event is open to ANYONE! NSCS members bring your friends! This is for a good cause. Music, food & swing dance lessons will be provided. It will give students a chance to go to a formal event, dress up, have fun & dance the night away.
have fun & dance the night away.