We don't get no education
The Honor Committee's referendum on the seriousness clause, slated to take place from April 3 to 6, is already off to a terrible start. Student Council denied the Committee use of the Council Web server for the referendum at their March 7 meeting, and we have seen little action from the Committee since that time.
The Committee has been dawdling, planning the voting procedures and making up ballots and brochures. Throughout the conflict over getting a vote on the seriousness clause, the Committee has continually stressed their belief that the issue was of the utmost importance, and should go to the students immediately. Nonetheless, we have not seen the beginning of the massive education effort necessary to ensure students are informed on the subject.
Through the Committee's insistence in establishing a referendum election, we can only assume that they wish to see the referendum carried out. The Committee should have been prepared, regardless of Council's decision, to begin the education process. Even if Council had allowed them to use its server, it seems the Committee still wouldn't have been ready to launch an effective education campaign. Information should have been distributed before Spring Break, or at least by the start of classes this week. Without educating the electorate, the Committee hardly can hope for an informed decision that serves the community's interests. Without even telling them why the issue is important, the Committee likely won't get a big enough turnout for the election to be valid.
Asking the Committee to create contingency plans before Council's decision or to work on the referendum over Spring Break is reasonable. The work has to get done at some point, and the earlier it does, the more informed the students will be. Now, the Committee can only hope for a week of education before voting begins, hardly enough time to reach a significant number of students.
Organizing an election is a large undertaking, and it must be planned well in advance. The Student Council Elections Committee has proven it does the work well. If the Honor Committee plans to run its own referenda election it should plan to run it right.
Road to nowhere
Arriving back from Spring Break, drivers were greeted by the newest addition to the Central Grounds Parking Garage, a gate that prevents cars from entering the garage's main entrance when the lot is full. The garage regularly reaches capacity during the breaks between classes.
Yesterday, the attempt to alleviate the traffic jams the garage occasionally causes proved to be a poor one. Instead of placing the gate directly outside the entrance of the garage, the gate is close to the road. Now, instead of letting a few cars back up in the drive leading to the garage, the gate lets them all back up on Emmett Street.
In order to clear the resulting jam today, an attendant actually had to wave at the assembled cars, telling them to move along down the road.
The problem with all of this is, there is no other legal parking for students in the vicinity of central Grounds. Students have no other option but to wait for the garage to empty. Anyone who thinks that students merely will pass up the only available parking area -- minutes before their classes start -- has not looked outside the garage at the top of the hour on any given afternoon.
Some opponents of building new parking would state that the amount of students parking in the garage is already too high, that students should walk to class. The garage, however, also serves the nearby libraries and Newcomb Hall, in addition to academic buildings. Students rely on their cars as a way of getting home after dark, when walking becomes an unsafe alternative.
At its peak hours, the garage always will block Emmett Street, unless a decent alternative site is opened for parking near central Grounds. The gate only serves to back the traffic jam up a little.
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