Riding the Bus
Soccer
The Edmond Citylink bus service hit an all-time high for ridership with 19,226 riders Page 3
Coach Mike Cook earns 200th career win as the Women’s Soccer team downs Southwest Baptist 4-0 Page 7
SEP. 13, 2011 uco360.com twitter.com/uco360
THE VISTA
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.
Parking
NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS UPSET BY STUDENT PARKING By Bryan Trude / Staff Writer A handful of handwritten notes left on cars parked on North Baumann Avenue has accentuated a problem that residents of the neighborhoods surrounding UCO say has been going on for decades. On Sept. 7, a student filed a complaint with UCO Police. A resident on Baumann had been handing out handwritten notes threatening to tow vehicles parked on the street, signing them “UCO Police Department.” For resident Shelly Kueteman, a neighbor of UCO for 20 years, the allegation comes as no surprise. “It would not surprise me if someone was out putting fake tickets on cars,” Kueteman said. “The students parking here is very frustrating for us.” A drive down any of the residential streets surrounding UCO during regular school hours reveals roads cluttered with cars, some bearing expired or current UCO parking permits. On these side streets, clusters of commuter student cars can narrow the street down enough that larger vehicles have difficulty passing. When a reporter from the Vista visited the area on North Baumann where the notes were handed out, over 15 vehicles were parked on both sides of the road near the Ayers intersection. The vehicles clogged the approach to nearby Northern Hills Elementary School. “Part of the problem is that [commuters]
A car drives on to Baumann Avenue, where students who park on the residential streets have been receiving notes threatening to tow the students’ cars. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista
don’t leave room for the people who live here, for people to leave their driveways,” Kueteman said. “It is really frustrating to see cars with parking permits blocking the roads and driveways. There is no place for the people
who live here to park.” According to Kueteman and other residents, supported by records obtained from UCO PD, UCO and Edmond police visited the area after the complaint on the fake notes was filed. After talking to area residents, locals said Edmond PD issued parking tickets to several vehicles. Records officials with both departments said no reports were filed regarding the faked notices. “[The police] told us that if we had problems with people parking, to just call Edmond police,” Britney Morgan, biology major and North Baumann resident, said. “But we understand, they’re students too. We don’t mind sharing the street.” Residents like Kueteman, however, have less sympathy. In 1995 Kueteman’s daughter, now a junior at the University of Oklahoma who Kueteman declined to name, was struck by a UCO student driving down the road in front of her house. According to Kueteman her daughter, who was five years old, was playing with neighbor-
hood children when she ran into the street. She said the UCO commuter did not see the child because of vehicles parked on the side of the road. Kueteman sees the parking problem as an issue with students’ “sense of entitlement.” “UCO has added so much parking since I moved here, there is plenty of parking,” Kueteman said. “I don’t understand why they have to park here. I don’t understand why they have to do this to my neighborhood.” City of Edmond municipal ordinance 10.64.010 states that as long as vehicles are parked on the right side of the road within 18 inches of the curb, parallel with the road’s edge and facing the direction of traffic, anyone can park on a public street. This would include the residential roads surrounding the campus. Alexandra Cifuentes, a clerk with UCO Transportation and Parking Services, said anyone who has a complaint about UCO students parking off-campus should call Edmond police.
SERVICE PROJECT REMEMBERS 9/11 Ray Westbrook, a freshman journalism major, walks to his car on Baumann St. Westbrook says he received one of the hand-written notes that threatened to tow his car. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista
American Democracy Project
ANNUAL VOTER REGISTRATION COMPETITION KICKS OFF UCO is competing with the University of Oklahoma and with Oklahoma State University to see which college can register the most students to vote in the 2012 elections. Students, faculty and staff can register to vote, change voting precincts and change party affiliation. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 12-16 at booths in front of the food court in the Nigh Center, in Thatcher Hall room 121, at the clock tower and in the library. Registration closes Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. UCO will compete against two-year and four-year colleges across Oklahoma. If UCO registers enough students, they will win the state competition for the second year in a row. “The contest pits large schools against large schools, as well as medium-sized [schools] against each other and small against each other,” Dr. Mary Carver, Civic Engagement and Service Learning professor, said. “So, we are really competing against OU and OSU.”
The event is a joint effort coordinated by the UCO Student Association (UCOSA), Pi Sigma Alpha and the local American Democracy Project (ADP) chapter at UCO. Carver said the contest is important because many students don’t vote and there is a need for awareness. “We live in a society where many people do not feel they can affect what happens in the government and believe voting won’t make a difference,” she said. A student leader, registration volunteer and student in Carver’s leadership class said students shouldn’t feel that way. “There are over 16,000 students at UCO. That’s not including staff and faculty,” Jennifer Pearsall, public relations major, said. “We have a voice, and we need to register in order for government to hear us.” Students also have a responsibility to the community, Carver said. “I also believe that voting is not just a right but a responsibility of citizenship,” she said. “Your future is being shaped right now by elected officials.”
Students walk through flags by Broncho Lake, Friday, Sept. 9, in memory of the 9/11 attacks. The flags are part of the 9/11 Service Project put on by the Volunteer Student Learning Center. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista
WEATHER
By M. A. Smith / Contributing Writer
TODAY H 97° L 69°
TOMORROW H 97°
L 68°
DID YOU KNOW? New York City has more trees than any other city in the US has people
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