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The student newspaper at Florida Gulf Coast University
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Find out on www.eaglenews.org in the multimedia section
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Taxi plan gives us a lift Student Taxi
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9p JfÔX J_\gXi[ J\e`fi jkX]] ni`k\i Student Government’s Executive Branch is in the process of funding and developing a taxi service for students that goes beyond the shuttles’ boundaries and includes nightlife. “We are still in the planning and development stage of this program, so all of the details have not been ironed out yet,” said Anthony Graziani, Student Body vice president. “However, (we have an) idea and starting point for discussions with a taxi company.” Theoretically, SG will collaborate with a taxi company and initially prepay 1,000 taxi rides for FGCU students. They will decide on a set radius around campus, extending into the Estero area. Each student will receive one free taxi voucher, available for pick-up in the SG Office by presenting his or her Eagle ID. Information about the taxi service will be on the voucher so that the student can call the company for a ride. “If the taxi ride went beyond the radius, then the student would pay the difference,” Graziani said. “Students would also be required to pay the taxi driver gratuity.”
The idea is that students will be able to be picked up or dropped off anywhere within the set radius. Many students seem to like the idea. “I think this would be awesome,” said Dylan Hayek, a freshman majoring in secondary education. “I would definitely use it.” The Executive Board is still waiting to hear back from a taxi company that has been approached before proceeding with negotiations and a set radius. “I’d like it to go to Coconut Point,” said Georgia Cudmore, a freshman and human performance major. Students agree that the service does not need to travel too far out of the FGCU community. “I would like to see it go into the neighborhoods like San Carlos,” said Valerie Voorhest, a freshman majoring in education. “It would also be a good resource for intoxicated people.” According to Graziani, intoxicated students would be able to use the service within reason. “If they were sick and vomiting, then that would not be acceptable,” Graziani said. SG will update the student body as the plan unfolds.
>lcÕ`e\ i\^`jkiXk`fe gifZ\jj Z_Xe^`e^ 9p M\ife`ZX M\cX JkX]] ni`k\i Registering for classes can be a frustrating process. Students begin signing into Gulfline long before midnight that first day of registration, and everyone has a different method of staying signed in and picking their first-choice classes. Some students keep refreshing their login page while others try to go to off-campus locations to use their Wi-Fi. This may no longer be the case, however. Computing Services, the Academic Counsel and the Office of the Registrar have been working on a way to make registration less frustrating for students. The idea is for students to sign up for classes based on credit
hours. For example, degreeseeking graduate students would be allowed to register first, followed by undergraduate students with 110 credit hours, honors students and student athletes. Registration will then continue, broken down by increments of 15. “In breaking the increments down and lengthening registration time, we’re hopeful that this improves the access (to Gulfline),” said Adam Musolino, associate director of new student programs. The idea first came about last fall when representatives from academics and the student data group began discussing ways of improving the method of registration. Research then began on how many students access the server, and the groups gathered to review the data.
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Carly Ellsworth, a sophomore majoring in business management, is hoping the new method works since she has waited up to three hours in the past to log in and choose her classes. “I think if it’s done right, these improvements will make for less frustration when students are registering,” she said. Others are more skeptical of the changes and if they will actually be successful. “I tried to log in for a few hours, but after a while it became tedious, so I signed up for my classes a few weeks later. I would just recommend going to the adviser’s office instead,” said Ryan Hendel, a freshman majoring in business management.
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Student Senate introduced a resolution for a smoke-free policy at FGCU to first reading during the outdoor meeting held on the library lawn Tuesday. The resolution states that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, and that the student body supports efforts to make FGCU a smoke-free campus in order to provide a safe and accessible working and learning environment. However, Sen. Joey Russo claims that the bill wrongly assumes the support of a large portion of the student body. “I’ve gotten a lot of interesting feedback, and many people are really against this resolution, especially when it includes housing and not just main campus. The resolution states that ‘the Student Body supports efforts to make FGCU a smoke-free campus,’ but that is not fair to all of the FGCU students when they don’t all have a voice,” he said. “Smokers have no rights when it comes to infringing on the health of others. That’s something that the U.S. courts have already decided on,” said Sen. Rosa Mendoza, an author of the resolution. Aaron Starkman, a senior majoring in forensics, is one of the members of the student body who attended the outdoor meeting in order to see how Senate would address the issue. “I oppose a smoke-free campus because I doubt the ability of it to be enforced. I believe it would be better to relocate the smokers’ stations and focus on enforcing the restrictions,” Starkman said. Amanda Holland, a freshman majoring in communication, is in support of the resolution. “One of the senators mentioned that someone sat and smoked in this tent during the meeting … when we have smokers’ stations now and smokers do not use them, how will moving the stations change anything? I understand that some students are against a smoke-free campus, but most of them seem to be in favor of it,” Holland said. Faculty Senate has already passed a resolution stating their support of a smoke-free campus. If the student Senate resolution is passed, the two resolutions will be brought to the Board of Trustees. Of the members of the gallery that took part in the electronic poll during the meeting, 71 percent were in favor of Senate passing the resolution and 19 percent opposed it. The resolution will be voted on during the next Senate meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 in SU 213.