What do the coaches say about Saturday’s loss? See page 8.
TODAY
TOMORROW
89 / 65
86 / 59
Review of Lakeview Terrace on page 7.
S P The
OPEN SEASON
Serving Southern Miss since 1927
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Volume 93, Issue 10
EDITORIAL
Riding a bike helps with parking problems, health The happiest day who are either oblivious of my life, the day I to my presence or lack first experienced freeunderstanding of how dom, was the day my to share the road. Yet, mother took the trainin the last thirty years, I ing wheels off my bihave ridden my bike on cycle and I took off crowded college camdown the sidewalk Kate Greene puses, through the streets under my own power Guest Columnist of large cities and small and control. Forty-five towns and through the years later, my bikes neighborhoods of Hatare still my most important pos- tiesburg without being hit by a sessions. They are my main form car or hitting a pedestrian. Since of transport to USM as well as more and more people are riding vehicles for exercise, meditation bicycles on campus and around and thrills (when I go the moun- town, I would like to share my tains). I love my bikes. best advice with you. The problem is that I have to First, wear a helmet. If you share the road with expensive, ever see me on a bike without massive, gas guzzling, polluting a helmet, then you know I am cars and trucks driven by people suicidal. Riding a bike can be BIKING continued on page 5
Texting on road more dangerous than drunk driving Meryl Dakin Printz Writer
Administration addressing parking, gives advice to help Craig McNeese Justin Sawyer Printz Writers
Jimmy Driskell, a senior geology major at USM, knows that if he wants to park on campus and get to class on time, he has to start early. “When it comes to parking for me, I usually have to leave an hour before my classes starts,” said Driskell, who is from Alabama. “It’s a really struggle for me to park sometimes.” Lucy Bowens, interim director of parking management, said there are 7,648 parking spaces on the USM campus, including reserved spaces. She added that parking management sells more parking permits than there are spaces because “everybody’s not here at the same time.” Campus officials said about 9,000 students commute to campus on weekdays. That creates gridlock for a lot of students who try to get class quickly. Joe Paul, vice president of student affairs, said there are longrange plans in the works to ease parking on the USM campus. “We going to have a new multi-level
POLL
What should the administration do about the parking problem on campus? www.studentprintz.com
parking structure with 1,000 extra spaces,” in the next two years, said Paul. “We are thinking of putting more parking spaces next to the new Trent Lott Center.” Sid Gonsoulin, associate vice president of student affairs and former chair of USM’s Master Plan Program, said the one remaining hurdle to breaking ground on a parking garage is the ongoing effort to secure a “partnership” with a private developer. “One of the goals (of the master plan) is to have a parking garage open prior to completion of the new residence hall being built north of Fourth Street,” Gonsoulin said. “In order to build, we need the partnership of a private developer” which members of the administration are actively seeking. Also under consideration are a campus shuttle service and a reconfigured Eco Eagle bike loan
program. The Eco Eagle bike program, which began earlier this month, hit an immediate snag when many of the 17 bikes went missing. Larry Lee, chief sustainability officer, told The Student Printz last week, he’s disappointed that the program’s debut was so unsuccessful but added ways to continue the program are being explored. In the meantime, what is a commuting student to do to get to class on time? Until some longer range projects are complete, Paul said the answer is simple. “Wake up earlier, know where you are going to park, and don’t pray to God that you’ll get that ‘lucky open one’ space when your running late,” he said. Bre Bradley agrees with Paul’s suggestion. “I get here 30 minutes early to get a parking spot,” said Bradley, an English major who commutes to campus daily. Bradley said usually she can find a spot even if she’s running a bit late, but she makes a point to get to campus early because “I want a good spot.”
Quincy St. Pierre, a history major, said early birds can have their pick of parking on campus. “If you get here at 7 a.m., there’s no problem,” he said. “But who wants to get here two hours before class?” Driskell had a scooter last semester that he used to commute around campus. “Parking my scooter was very easy for me, because I could park it right next to my classroom,” he said. Until a replacement part for his scooter arrives from Hong Kong, Driskell said he will have to continue the hunt for a more traditional parking place. John Cobb, an economics major, said he doesn’t look at parking as a problem. “There’s always a parking spot,” said Cobb. “People just don’t want to have to walk a mile or so to get to class.” Bowens said the Fourth Street commuter lot near Hillcrest Hall is always a good spot to find an open parking space. “It’s never filled to our capacity,” Bowens said, adding that there are at least 450 spaces in the lot.
A recent study shows that texting while driving is considerably more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. Transport Research Laboratory conducted the experiment using a simulator on drivers between the ages of 17 and 24. The affect on steering control worsened by 91 percent for those texting, as compared to 35 percent when using marijuana. The results of texting and driving outside of a simulator speak for themselves. Los Angeles recently banned the use of cell phones for anyone operating a train after a wreck that killed 25 people and wounded 130. The conductor was found to have been texting when he drove his commuter train into a freight train. Mississippi’s neighbor, Louisiana, banned all cell phone use while operating a motor vehicle in July. “As much as people will hate me for saying it, I think it’s a good idea to ban it,” said Carrie Prior, a sophomore nursing major. “I think it will result in fewer accidents altogether.” “When I even look down at my texts, I swerve,” Proir said. “The other day I almost ran clear into the back of somebody looking at my text messages.”
Zachary Lamplugh, a junior, disagrees with the ban entirely, saying that too much government regulation i n -
fringes on Americ a n rights. Sarah Odom, a mass communications major, said the issue is one of personal responsibility. She said a ban against texting while driving would not be useful because “people are still going to do it.” “I know a girl who got in a bad wreck maybe three weeks ago because she was texting,” Odom said. “She flipped the car, totaled it and was in the hospital for a little while. Is she still going to text and drive? Yeah.” Prior concedes that while banning cell phones from vehicle use is a good idea, it won’t help anything until people are required to change their habits.
Biking to class eliminates worry for commuting students Thomas Lambert Printz Writer
For some students, riding a bike to class is an obvious solution to the parking predicament. “Riding to class is the way to go,” said Daniel Shemper, a business major from Hattiesburg. “I get from place to place (on campus) in a fraction of the time it takes to walk, and I don’t have to worry about wasting time looking for a spot or getting a ticket.” Lucy Bowens, interim director of parking management, said the cost of a bike permit is $10 annually, compared to the $50 yearly fee for a parking spot. Bikers also help facilitate a more green attitude around the USM campus. “I save money, get a work-out
and I feel like I am doing my part in cleaning up the environment,” said senior Michael Gray-Lewis, who pedals to every class. “The only real downside is cold or rainy mornings, and that more people aren’t joining in.” Campus statistics show that there are approximately 7,600 parking spaces available on or near campus in official parking lots while there are about 9,000 students commuting to class weekdays. There are also about 2,000 employees who park on or near campus. USM recently introduced Eco Eagle, a new program that provided bicycles for students to use on campus for free. The idea was to encourage more drivers to park and ride a bike instead, which would alleviate some of the campus parking problem. Eco Eagle bikes were placed
on campus for use from building to building, with a sign attached explaining that they were not to be taken off campus. Within a week, many of the 17 EcoEagle bikes were missing or damaged, which has forced organizers to go back to the drawing board and seek new ways to make the program work. James Moore, owner of Moore’s Bicycle Shop on Hardy Street, sold the university the Eco Eagle bikes. Moore said despite the fact the program wasn’t an immediate success, it has still benefitted the entire community. “With the amount of exposure this program has gotten with the media, we have definitely raised awareness about the benefits of biking,” said Moore. “People who ordinarily wouldn’t ride a bike might have realized how much quicker it is to get around
on a bike and how handy it would be to have one waiting on them outside. “Whether they used the campus bikes or not, the idea may persuade folks to go purchase one at Wal-Mart for $100 or from a bike shop for $300; either way USM is benefiting in that it is one less driver trying to park,” he said. One concern many have when biking to class is contending with traffic. But for most students, living a bit dangerously is worth it. “I live across (U.S.) 49 from campus and even though sometimes I have to wait on traffic to clear, I can easily make it anywhere on campus in a matter of minutes,” said Shemper. “No matter how you look at it, riding a bike to school is less of a hassle than driving.”
Maggie Sanford/Printz
Molly Peresich, a sophomore dance education from Ocean Springs, locks her bike on the rack outside of the Thad Cochran Center.