Leon Finds His Home Page 11 PAGE 1 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010
VOL. 105 NO. 3
UATRAV.COM
REVERSED
Drug Policy Not Approved by KATHERINE DAWSON Opinion Editor
LARRY ASH Photo Editor Chanting “Education Not Incarceration”, 18 students carried signs in front of the UA Administration building at the Friday lunch hour protesting the chancellor’s reversal of an earlier announcement that campus penalities for illegal use of marijuana would be reduced to the same level as those for illegal use of alcohol. Protestors were members of the UA chapters of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
UA administrative officials issued a press release Tuesday that “no changes have been made to university policies having to do with alcohol or drug violations” despite their publication last week of a revised on-campus drug policy in the residence halls and on the university housing website. The new policy, as reported in the Aug. 25th edition of The Arkansas Traveler, would equalize the penalties of drug and alcohol violations within the university system. The policy was approved by the RazorCAT board, which is headed by several administrative leaders and serves as a campus disciplinary team. The Tuesday press release, written by Steve Voorhies, manager of university media relations, clearly stated that “the media have reported that certain changes to the guidelines for marijuana and alcohol sanctions on campus have been equalized” and that “this information is not accurate.” Since that statement was
released, administrative officials have admitted to publishing a revised policy and have since retracted that policy. “I think it was an honest mistake,” Voorhies said. “Someone thought the change had been made and wanted to get the policy out there.” “There are procedures in place now to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said. Since their statement was released, housing officials have removed fliers that indicate the policy change from residence halls and have edited the policy on their website back to the original guidelines. “Unfortunately it conflicts tremendously institutionally, so the chancellor and executive committee said we can’t do that,” said Daniel Pugh, dean of students. “It’s not where the institution is right now.” Chancellor Gearhart has since admitted the policy change was “a result of miscommunication.” He pointed out that RazorCAT “is not a policy-making
POLICY on page 3
Farmers Market Hits Campus
Beginning Sept. 15, Students Can Purchase Local Produce in Lot 56 by KRISTEN COPPOLA Staff Writer
The University of Arkansas is bringing a farmer’s market to campus on Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. beginning Sept. 15, to promote sustainability and city-campus relations. “[The Associated Student Government] went to Baton Rouge in February for the Southeastern Conference Student Government Exchange. We got the idea from [the University of] South Carolina; they rotate their farmer’s market from one Saturday on campus and one in town,” said ASG President Billy Fleming. A lot of planning went in to bringing the farmer’s market to campus. The ASG had to check out times, look into locations and ensure that the farmer’s market wasn’t seen as an economic move on the part of the University. Wednesday was set as the chosen day to host the farmer’s market, because it is the day of the week when the University has the most students and faculty on campus. “We worked with [University officials] who offered up the band practice area of Lot
56. It’s lower foot traffic and higher vehicle traffic, but there is a bus route that goes down there,” Fleming said. “Once we got those hurdles cleared, we were able to get the go-ahead.” The campus driveway was originally a prospective location, but because of construction, it was thrown out. University staff including Mike Johnson with Facilities Management, Matt Trantham with Razorback Athletics and Gary Smith with Parking and Transit helped to propose Lot 56 as the official location. The Fayetteville farmer’s market is working with ASG to supply all of the vendors and ensure that everything is in line with the sustainability efforts that are being pushed by the University. “It fits very handily in with [sustainability efforts] because of the local food source. It also has a lot to do with the educational aspects because there are a lot of opportunities for research,” Fleming added. Above all else, the farmer’s market is in place to be a fun and enjoyable occasion and also unite the city and the campus. “At Fayetteville’s farm-
er’s market, it’s the social event of Fayetteville’s week. It’s where everyone goes to unwind a bit,” Fleming explained, “it’s about developing the relationship between the city of Fayetteville and the campus. There’s a line that seems to be between campus and the city, and hopefully this will blur that line.” Overall, students are reacting very positively to the approaching prospects offered by the farmer’s market. “I think that the farmer’s market will provide a welcomed change from the food offered on campus, and it will spark conversations between people about eating healthier,” said Taylor Martin, a sophomore kinesiology major. “I also think that it will be very intriguing because I’ve never been to a farmer’s market before.” “I am really looking forward to the farmer’s market, because you get to meet the local farmers growing the food,” said Shannon Maloskie, a freshman psychology major. “Plus, at the farmer’s markets I’ve been to before, the food is cheaper, and it tastes better, too.”
a slight increase with more students enrolling, but an even larger increase in usage of the program. It’s straining the system.” The student fee for SafeRide is 22 cents per credit hour, but Alexander Clark, the director or development who handles the financial aspect of SafeRide, said he doesn’t think the student fee will be increasing anytime soon. “We’re trying to endow the actual SafeRide program to ultimately eliminate the student fee,” Clark
by SABA NASEEM
LARRY ASH Photo Editor
Mark Priest, a vendor at the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market, helps a customer with her okra purchase. The University of Arkansas is planning to bring the Farmer’s Market on campus so students, faculty and staff can more easily buy fresh, local produce.
SafeRide Needs Students Concerned about Bus Overcrowding More Money by JORDAN GRUMMER Staff Writer
Since 1998, the SafeRide program at the UA has been helping students get home safely, but because of a large increase in demand and a general lack of funding the program has become strained, a co-chair of the SafeRide committee said. “Currently, SafeRide is funded by student fees, so our budget increases when there are more students,” said senior Justin Miller, a co-chair on the SafeRide committee. “So we’ve seen
see SAFERIDE on page 5
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 VOL. 105, NO. 3 UATRAV.COM
Staff Writer
For many students who depend on the transit system, it serves as a blessing, but as with any public transportation system, it can bring much frustration. The UA transit system is not limited to students, although they make up the majority of the passengers. The public is allowed to ride the buses, and many residents take advantage of this
WEATHER FORECAST
TODAY 79°
THURSDAY 82°
free transportation system. The public can ride any bus, but they are most likely to ride the tan, blue and red bus, said Richard Womack, a bus driver for two years. This does not really affect the student traffic which is high in the mornings, often at Lot 56. There are an average of more than 1,300,000 passengers per year, most of them students, said Andy Gilbride, education and instruction specialist of the transit and parking depart-
FRIDAY 90°
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ment. “Because we are federally funded, we have to open the buses to the public.” The transit system receives close to a million dollars from student fees and more than a million dollars from the federal government, Gilbride said. There are instances when drunken passengers get on the bus and harass others, but these are rare, he said. If a passenger is disrupting the peace of the bus, bus drivers call the UAPD, who deal with the rider. If people continue to disrupt the bus after a warning is issued, they are prohibited from the buses and bus drivers are in-
see BUSES on page 2