“Endeavor Games” on 7 Volume 114, Issue 14
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VISTA “The Student Voice Since 1903”
UCentralMedia.com vistanews1903 TheVista1903 TheVista1903 The Vista Monday, June 12, 2017
Privatizing the Eyes in the Sky Christian Tabak @TheVista1903 Contributing Writer
The Trump Administration’s proposal to privatize air traffic control at airports across the nation is being closely monitored by Oklahoma City airport officials. On June 5, President Donald Trump announced his air traffic control initiative, a major component of removing the job of tracking and guiding airplanes from the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration. “Under this new plan, the FAA will focus firmly on what it does best -- safety. A separate nonprofit entity would be charged with ensuring route efficiency, timely service and a long-awaited reduction in delays,” Trump said at a press conference held on June 5. Under Trump's proposal, a board made up of airline, union and airport officials would oversee the nonprofit entity that would assume oversight of air traffic control after a three-year transition period. About 2,700 air traffic controllers and new hiring candidates are trained annually at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy housed in the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City. Under a system where air traffic control is transitioned from the FAA to a private entity, the implications for the MMAC are uncertain. “All airports will be monitoring the development of this initiative. But, it is really too early to comment on its impact,” said Karen Carney, public information and marketing manager for the Oklahoma City Department of Airports. As the proposal still needs to undergo congressional approval, local FAA officials have said that it is too early to speculate on what kind of impact the initiative might have on the FAA’s operations. FAA administrator Michael P. Huerta expressed his support of a proposal that would help modernize the national air traffic control system. “While the FAA has made progress to upgrade our nation's air traffic control system, despite certain constraints, I support looking at new ways to help us provide stable
Trump’s FAA proposal would privatize air traffic control in the United States. The proposal, if put into action, could have an impact on Oklahoma jobs.(Provided/ Pixabay).
and sufficient funding to more rapidly modernize our system while maintaining the highest level of safety," Huerta said in a statement released on June 6. Presenting on the Department of Airports budget at the Oklahoma City Finance Committee Meeting held June 6, Department of Airports Director Mark Kranenburg said that it was still too early in the proposal’s development for the department to comment on its potential impact on the city’s relationship with the MMAC. “The legislation that’s going to be proposed on that has not been introduced yet,” Kranenburg said. “We will have to wait and just see what that legislation looks like before we can take a position on that.” The city has a lease agreement with the federal government that provides 1,000 acres at Will Rogers World Airport to house the FAA Academy and offices. “Our priorities with the city are to support FAA operations and airport funding,” he said. “We will want to make sure that anything that comes about with potential air traffic reform does not hurt those priorities.” Another major component of Trump’s proposal is transitioning the financial support of air traffic control away from taxes to user fees, a system that has long been championed by U.S. See “ Trump and FAA” on 3
Show Us the Money
UCO BronchoSpirit Cards will soon be replaced by a new refund system for tuition refunds from the university. (Illustration/ Cara Johnson/ The Vista).
Faith Kelly
@TheVista1903 Contributing Writer
The University of Central Oklahoma’s new refund plan will let students access their refund preferences through UConnect, UCO’s student website, instead of a third-party website. Students can use their own bank account to receive refunds starting June 15. UCO has been using TouchNet to process refunds for years. UCO will process all payments through the payment company TouchNet, and will no longer partner with BankMobile. TouchNet is a payment company that partners with many universities to handle refund disbursements. TouchNet’s website promotes the words Efficiency,
Technology, and Trust. James Powers of the Bursars office at UCO, said the change should make it easier for students to process refunds, since they can access their account through UCONNECT and not a separate website. If students do not have an existing bank account, MidFirst Bank will be available for students to create accounts at UCO. MidFirst Bank partners with UCO and has a bank in the Nigh University Center. The Card Services office in the Nigh University Center will be able to provide help to students who need assistance with the process. A customer service representative at BankMobile described the bank as an See “Refund” on 3