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Thursday, April 26, 2012
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Vol. 100 No. 293
OUT buses expanding
Volunteer. Fix. Ride.
BY LANDON COLE llcole@olemiss.edu
In August 2008, a sixmember committee started planning a transit system for the Oxford community. Four years later, Oxford University Transit continues to grow, implementing new buses and creating new routes to accommodate its increasing number of passengers. What began with five buses and five drivers has become a
system with 15 buses and 20 operating employees, thanks to the OUT committee and framework provided by McDonald Transit. The expansion has led to the need for a new transit facility. The committee started making a plan for the new building in 2009, and later that year, the proposal was confirmed. The new transit facility is expected to be completed in See OUT, PAGE 3
JON HAYWOOD | The Daily Mississippian
Tuesday night, The University of Mississippi Wind Ensemble performed at their fundraising concert. Their goal was to raise $35,000 for their scholarship fund, and they raised approximately $40,000, according to Nancy Frohn, the University of Mississippi band MALLORY SIMERVILLE | The Daily Mississippian
Public policy leadership freshman Jessica Brouckaert works on her bicycle in front of the union with help from fellow public policy freshman Christine Dickason.
BY GABRIELLA WELCH gawelch@olemiss.edu
Getting around Oxford is no easy task if you don’t have your own means of transportation. Several students rely on the OUT system to get to campus and around town, but they are left stranded on the weekends when the buses do not run. Now, thanks to the Associated Student Body and the University of Mississippi Office of Campus Sustainability, transportation is becoming less and less of a problem. With help from the University Police Department, these two groups are working to make sure students who do not have the luxury of owning a car are provided free bicycles that they can use for transportation. Meghan Litten, the intern for the Office of Campus Sustainability, said ASB’s community service project for the spring semester is to refurbish used bikes for students. “The University Police Department collects abandoned bikes on campus, keeps them for a certain amount of time, and then we get them and refurbish
them to give to students who do not have a car or a bike,” Litten said. “The ASB’s community service project for the spring semester on campus was to refurbish bikes in front of the Student Union on Tuesday and Wednesday and to bring awareness to students that they can help refurbish bikes at any time.” The two day event featured volunteers fixing and showing off the refurbished bikes. Litten said she and her peers simply wanted the students to know the program was available. The 505 Multisport Organization also helped to refurbish the ten bikes that were given away. Shannon Carwyle, the co-director of community service on campus, said the program has been a rewarding service so far. “The program really made me realize how many students there are on campus without a mode of transportation,” she said. “A lot of the international students, especially, have no way of getting to campus on the weekends.” Will Bedwell, the director of sustainability on campus, said he thinks it’s great that this program is able to focus on both commu-
nity service and sustainability. “It helps a ton working together,” Bedwell said. “We are able to plan everything, and it has gone really well.” Anyone hoping to pick up a bike and benefit from this program need only pick up an application from the ASB office in the Union or in the Office of Sustainability in the Lyceum. “As long as you don’t have a car or a bike or any type of transportation, you qualify to get a bike,” Litten said. “We’re trying to help students who have no form of transportation because it’s such a high need.” Litten said in comparison, abandoned bikes are fairly easy to come by, while volunteers tend to be a little harder to find. “We have the bikes; we have the equipment, but we do not have the man power,” Litten said. “We are hoping that these two days in front of the Union have encouraged students to volunteer.” Anybody wishing to help with this cause can email Christine Dickason, the director of community service on campus, at cndickas@go.olemiss.edu.
benefit chair.
Lott sponsors fundraiser for Delta Freedom Project BY TAYLOR DELANDRO tjdeland@olemiss.edu
The Trent Lott Leadership Institute will sponsor the Sunflower County Freedom Project Benefit today at the Powerhouse from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The project works with 7th to 12th graders to prepare for college and maximize their academic potential. The Sunflower County Freedom Project works with children in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in Sunflower. This past summer, the Trent Lott Leadership Institute sponsored University of Mississippi public policy senior Abby Olivier to intern with the Sunflower County Freedom Project, and they’ve been working together to put on the benefit, hoping to raise both awareness and money. Olivier said she hopes the benefit exposes a lot of people to the project. “We want to let the community and students know what the Free-
dom Project is all about and the success that they’ve had,” Olivier said. Nick Allen, executive director of the Sunflower County Freedom Project, said the money raised will support the Freedom Garden in Sunflower County for soil, seeds and tools to continue growing produce. The Sunflower County Freedom Project Benefit is open to the public and admission is $5. Food, drinks, T-shirts, an auction and entertainment will be provided. There will be performances from Chris Bandi, formerly seen on American Idol, as well as Sarah Jennings, Payton Thigpen and Ben Hurston. “I lived a blessed life, so it is important to give back,” Bandi said. Other University of Mississippi departments, including the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, sororities and fraternities, as well as private donors, have helped fund and plan this benefit.