OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
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New plan in effect fall term will create tiered permit prices, encourage alternative transit By Tori Hittner
Each day on campus, there are roughly 1,775 paid-for parking spaces that go unused. Beginning fall term, Oregon State University will provide students the option to choose how much they want to pay for campus parking permits based on a new zonal system. Students will pay anywhere from $50 to $550 per year for a campus parking permit under the new pricing system. Parking spaces will cost varying amounts depending on their vicinity to academic buildings. OSU Vice President for University Relations and Marketing Steve Clark unveiled the parking and transit plan, which aims to reduce on-campus parking concerns and promote sustainable transportation. The parking problem “There are a lot of frustrations and problems with parking at Oregon State,” Clark said. “It’s not only frustrating, but it’s uncertain. There’s little to no assurance that you can find a parking space where you want it when you want it.”
Bill will grant HECC authority to establish further agreements for improved education abroad By Sean Bassinger THE DAILY BAROMETER
Oregon State University and other Oregon colleges can soon enter interstate distance education agreements faster than before. The bill passed Monday through the Oregon Senate with a 29-1 vote. It will allow for improved agreements between other states and Oregon colleges offering distance educational services abroad. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission will set most of the major parameters for the bill. Dave King, associate provost of outreach and engagement at OSU, said the university currently spends more than $350,000 annually to comply with regulations throughout various states. “This is a major issue for our students,” King said. King said establishing new regulations through HECC, as opposed to complying with every outside state requirement, would allow spare funds to improve the quality of continuing online programs for students. See BILL | page 3
This week in campus history
News, page 2
Committee reviews new plans, hears public testimony on residential parking zones By Emma-Kate Schaake THE DAILY BAROMETER
See PARKING | page 4
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Next stage of city parking discussion n
THE DAILY BAROMETER
Oregon Senate approves distance education agreement bill
VOL. CXVI, NO. 97
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OSU to implement parking zones n
TUESDAY MARCH 5, 2014
A man of rock ‘n’ dirt n
Oregon State soil science professor James Cassidy comes from a musical background By Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova THE DAILY BAROMETER
the band to become global rock stars. After the rock, came the dirt. Following many years of traveling and playing, some band members wanted to have children and some had grown tired.
See CASSIDY | page 4 Back in the 1970s, somewhere in the barren concrete metropolis in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn., high school students played in garage bands and began listening to the new wave of electronic music flowing in from the post-disco era. There also existed a student who played the banjo and bass in heavy metal bands. His name is James Cassidy, known now as an Oregon State University instructor of soils. Following high school, Cassidy continued on with his music. A local band brought Cassidy on to perform a banjo solo in their rock band. Cassidy’s debut solo banjo performance turned out to be his only banjo performance with the group. They did, however, hire him as their lighting director. But since Cassidy hung around, he eventually joined the group. Cassidy was the bassist for Information Society, a synthpop-freestyle band. He joined Paul Robb, a synthesizer player, and vocalist Kurt Harland. It took many years to cultivate the band’s cohesiveness in its sound and style. The band members broke up, made up, broke up, made up and broke up again. “Then all the rats came back to the sinking ship in Minneapolis and that’s when we had our first breakthrough song that allowed us to start doing dates,” Robb said. They played shows around Minnesota until they decided to make the big move to New York City to gauge their stardom. In NYC, an unknown DJ named Little Louie Vega got a copy of Information Society’s record. He played it at the Courtesy of Kyle Neumann clubs, which launched him and the band to soaring sucJames Cassidy in the field teaching his Soils 201 cess in the nouveau wave of 1980s electronic pop music. class about soils in relation to sustainable cemeteries. Something called MTV had begun, aiding Cassidy and
High comedy at basketball press conference Sports, page 5
The Urban Services Committee reviewed a new plan from city staff and once again heard testimony regarding residential parking districts on Tuesday evening. Following the Feb. 4 Urban Services Committee meeting, the committee asked city staff to come up with three alternative plans for the residential parking districts. The options were to stay with the existing plan, approve the new plan discussed in February, or adopt a new hybrid plan incorporating elements of the previous two. “It is a long process by design,” said Public Works Director Mary Steckel. “It’s not to be entered in lightly.” The staff recommendation is in favor of the first proposed hybrid option, which would implement the parking permit system in the residential parking zones indicated in the February proposal, with the addition of two-hour limits in all of the districts. An estimated 75 percent of the street parking in these districts would be permit only, with the remaining open for free two-hour spaces. While nothing is set in stone until a vote goes through to the City Council, Police Chief Jon Sassaman mentioned problems of enforcement as the plan changes and time runs out. Parking enforcement officers need to be hired and trained in accordance to the districts that need specified enforcement. “Initially, we are going to see a decline in tickets being issued,” Sassaman said. At the last meeting, residents from all of the proposed districts were concerned with the lack of free parking, which could limit guests and restrict businesses. In oral and written testimony received until Feb. 25, the most frequent opinion was to create the districts without eliminating all of the free two-hour parking. “We believe it will result in more available parking on the streets than is currently available in those districts,” Steckel said. “We believe that is the best compromise.” Steckel also explained that there could be flexibility in the different districts according to those individual needs. Another issue that received considerable testimony was OSU’s culpability for the parking problems. Several people voiced a desire to see a collaborative effort from the city and OSU for a solution. OSU aims to improve the shuttle services and distribute parking around campus with zone parking permits. OSU is hosting public forums in the next few weeks, and will give a formal presentation to the City Council before an official plan will go into effect. Emma-Kate Schaake City reporter managing@dailybarometer.com
Dr. Sex addresses contraceptives
Forum, page 7