collegian.csufresno.edu
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017
HOW DO STUDENTS STAY ENERGIZED DURING FINALS? Page 6
Fresno State’s Award-Winning Newspaper
GRANT
Three years later, bikeway plans still hazy
GIVING
She doesn’t own a car, but she likely paid your expired meter By Jessica Johnson @iamjesslj
Daniel Avalos • The Collegian
The bike path on Barstow Avenue between Cedar and Chestnut avenues on Nov. 27, 2017. Parts of the bike path are worn out or erased and at some points the path is nonexistent. The current bike path was not used with grant money.
By William Ramirez @willoveslakers2
I
n 2014, Fresno State got four grants designed to help construct a bikeway along Barstow Avenue. Three years later, the bikeway has not been built. The Collegian reported in 2014 that Cal-
trans Active Transportation program awarded $872,000 to the university. Additionally, the Fresno Council of Governments’ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program gave $570,000 and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District awarded two grants that totaled about $200,000. Though a bikeway was installed on the south side of Barstow Avenue between Cedar and Maple avenues in May 2014, it was
paid for with a different set of funds, said Deborah Adishian-Astone, vice president for administrative services. Adishian-Astone said the bikeway project for which the grants were awarded was put on hold in January 2016 due to a number of factors. First, Adishian-Astone said that the grant money only provided enough for the bikeway to extend a half mile from Jackson
See GRANT, Page 3
You may have been spared lately of a parking ticket – all because of another student’s random act of kindness. A Fresno State English major, who asked not to be named by The Collegian for this story, said she wanted to repay others for a great first semester as a freshman. So on Nov. 15, she began doing so by paying for an extra hour of time on expired parking meters at university parking lots. One hour in the Henry Madden Library P30 parking lot costs 25 cents. So far, the student said, she has spent about $1.25 in feeding five expired meters and helping students avoid a ticket by parking police. She publicized the good deeds on the Facebook group Fresno State Book Trade & Advice, where hundreds of students share their Fresno State experiences. She posted photos of two cars, a Dodge Charger and a Toyota Tundra, for which she had paid a meter on Nov. 15. The students loved it. Immediately, her post received 231 reactions, and she was even named “The parking meter vigilante” by one student. But while others called her a hero, another student simply referred to the student as “an amazing human being.” And going around paying for the expired meters is simple for her. She said, “I usually
See GIVING, Page 3
FINANCE
What you should know about spending money – including these holidays By Jessica Johnson @iamjesslj
Some students will spend the money they earn, others will save it – some have managed to do both. Associate professor and chair of the department of economics at Fresno State, Dr. David Vera, has tips for those who have not mastered saving and spending wisely on their own. He uses the “50, 30, 20” rule. What it means: use 50 percent of your income for your needs; 30 percent for your nonessentials – such as dining out and coffee – and 20 percent to save or repay debts. For Vera, paying off loans, like student loans, and clearing oneself from debt “is a form of savings.” Michael Olague, a Fresno State alumnus
Photo illustration by Daniel Avalos • The Collegian
Cash, department store cards, credit and debit cards are displayed to show the possible spending habits of students on Nov. 28, 2017.
with an accounting degree, said he began saving when he was a freshman at Fresno City College. In a smart move, he said, “I opened up investment accounts freshman year and treated long term savings like a bill.” Depending on his monthly income, Olague deposited a dollar amount each week into his investment account. Vera advises to have a savings account with a few months of income saved. And when you have an established career, open a money market account. It gives the user “liquidity but with higher return,” Vera said. Olague did just that. And although he qualified for financial aid, he still took out loans. He didn’t need the loan to pay to earn his degree or make ends meet, however. “I did it because I could put that cash to work,” he said. For example, if he borrowed $24,000 in loans at Fresno State, he would owe that amount plus 4 percent in interest each year. The benefit of that, he said, is that he put the money into an investment account that
See FINANCE, Page 3