Governor Kitzhaber calling bullshit on Lariviere, saying it’s about “trust,” and standing behind the state board. From his letter:
First, let me say that the situation involving the Oregon State Board of Higher Education and Dr. Richard Lariviere has nothing to do with an “ongoing difference of opinion over the future of the University of Oregon,” as Dr. Lariviere suggested in an email sent out to faculty and students last Tuesday.
There have been a number of well-publicized incidents involving Dr. Lariviere that have eroded trust and confidence with the Board of Higher Education.
Dr. Lariviere unilaterally granted substantial salary increases to his administrators and faculty. Unlike every other university president in the state, he disregarded my specific direction on holding tight and delaying discussion about retention and equity pay increases until the next biennium to allow for a consistent, system-wide policy on salaries.
The UO Deans calling it as they see it, urging for reconsideration:
We are unanimous in giving the president an A+ for his vision, his leadership and his unwavering commitment to public higher education. We are confident that an evaluation of his performance based on appropriate metrics would lead to a similar grade. We can only conclude that the state board and the governor gave him an F in “plays well with state bureaucracies.”
President Lariviere was hired by the board and supported by the UO community because he promised to lead us in finding a new model for excellence in higher education in Oregon. The UO community challenges the board, the governor and our president to forge a new path so that we can continue to build a great university for the benefit of all Oregonians.
The UO, with the consent of the abutting property owners, applied for the vacation of a portion of Moss Street extending from East 15th Avenue to East 17th Avenue. Moss Street is located just east of campus, but you’re probably not familiar with East Campus, because it’s opposite West Campus—the area in which you either live or party or both. You can find Moss Street in the shadow of Matthew Knight Arena, and along it you can find the site of the new East Campus Residence Hall, an exquisite gravel parking lot, a couple of houses converted into UO offices, and the sad, displaced Moss Street Children’s Center.
The Eugene City Council held a public hearing Monday night with the Moss Street ordinance first on their agenda. Four people stood and spoke on behalf of the ordinance, three of which were a tri-part UO tag team: the VP of Finance and Administration, the assistant VP of Student Affairs, and some landscape architect. They each presented a few reasons why vacating Moss Street was in the “public interest.” They claimed that the purchase of Moss Street is part of the UO’s “strategic effort to steer parking away from its surrounding neighborhoods,” allowing the UO to transform Moss Street’s 60 parallel parking spaces into 107 head-in parking spaces. The benevolent UO also says that they really just want to “lessen the burden” on the city, repair sidewalks, add better lighting and maintain the landscaping themselves.
At the hearing, the public produced only one person in opposition, a certain Zachary Bishnoff, “former” UO student and concerned citizen. Zachary moved us all with some of that lukewarm, quintessentially Eugene, stick-it-to-the-man rhetoric we all know and love: this will turn the historic Fairmount Neighborhood into a suburban office park, how does UO know what is in the public interest, I have a ponytail and a mustache, blah blah blah. Well to mine and the UO tag team’s surprise, and I think to Zachary’s as well, the council responded to this plea and voted to delay the vacating another two weeks, giving time for further deliberation and for anyone else to submit their concerns to the council.
Adjourned, bitches. Democracy at a local level throws an eensy-weensy wrench in the inexorable gears of the University of Oregon and its malicious encroachment upon the city of Eugene. Well, you can bet that I’ll be submittin’ nothin’ to the council in my allotted two weeks. You know why? Not only does the UO already own all property adjacent to this portion of Moss Street, but the UO’s gonna fork out a cool 1.8 million to the city of Eugene for those ugly 1.35 acres (58,729 square feet). I just know that number makes Mayor Kitty Piercy purrrrrrrrrrr. Today I walked down Moss Street myself and I couldn’t even tell I was off campus. Call me indifferent, but I hereby conclude that the UO’s motion to purchase part of Moss Street is not that big of a deal. But read the ordinance and form your own opinions here.
An email sent out by Julie Palanuk today at 2:17 PM shares the University Senate’s plan to fight for Lariviere’s reinstatement, and they’re not going down without a fight:
Dear UO community:
The Senate Executive Committee met yesterday and formulated the following plan for the upcoming week:
1) YESTERDAY (WEDNESDAY): The Senate Executive Committee issued the petition on reinstating President Lariviere that many of you have seen and signed. As of 11:50 pm this evening, 2,890 people have signed the petition.
We also strongly encourage community members to write letters to the Governor, State Board and local legislators.
2) FRIDAY: The Senate Executive Committee will issue a strongly worded public statement on behalf of the university community denouncing the State Board decision with an explanation of why the decision is so detrimental to our university.
3) MONDAY: The State Board will hold a hastily scheduled meeting in Portland solely on President Lariviere’s contract. It is expected that the Board will follow the lead of the Governor and Chancellor and terminate his contract.
The Senate President Robert Kyr will be allowed to speak at that meeting. We are asking as many faculty, students and staff as possible to attend the meeting to show support for President Lariviere. We have been told that the meeting will likely commence at 3 pm (check State Board web site on Friday for an official announcement; http://www.ous.edu/state_board) and will be held in PSU’s Academic & Student Recreation Center, Suite 515 (1800 SW 6th Avenue, Portland).
The Senate Exec will help set up carpools if anyone has space in his/her vehicle or if someone needs a ride. Please contact N. Tublitz at [email protected].
4) TUESDAY: The Senate and CAS Department Heads will sponsor a teach-in/rally here on campus. Senate President Kyr will report on the State Board meeting. Several faculty from across campus will also speak. There might also be a march. This will be the first campuswide community gathering since the President’s firing. Time is likely to be noon to 2 pm. Location TBA.
5) WEDNESDAY: 2:45 pm University Senate meeting for the purpose of calling a Statutory Faculty meeting.
3:00-5:00 pm Statutory Faculty meeting. All community members are invited to attend. Governor Kitzhaber, Chancellor Pernsteiner and State Board Chairman Donegan are to be invited and will be given an opportunity to speak. Following their presentations, there will be an extended question and answer period.
At around 4:30 pm there will be two motions presented to the Statutory Faculty for adoption. The first will be a motion in support of retaining President Lariviere. The second will be a motion of no confidence in the Chancellor and the State Board. The location of the Senate and Statutory Faculty meetings will be determined and announced as soon as possible.
Updates on these activities will be posted on the University Senate website (http://senate.uoregon.edu/). Additional events will be scheduled depending on the outcome of the events in the next week.
Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have contributed to this important effort.
Senate President Robert Kyr and the Senate Exec Committee
“There may also be a march.” This is Eugene. Of course there will be a march.
Wednesday, the current home of University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, Agate Hall, was adorned with a giant banner stating, “WE STAND WITH THE HAT.”
Apparently, the decision was made at a SOJC faculty and staff meeting Wednesday afternoon.
In hanging this banner, the SOJC is speaking not just for SOJC staff and faculty but for its students as well. That building represents the SOJC as an entity and the banner is an official stance in support of President Lariviere.
Yet, as far as I am aware, students weren’t consulted. As far as I am aware (and I checked, but I admit, I got upwards of 25 emails Wednesday about Lariviere via grad list emails), I did not get an email inviting me to the meeting. If the SOJC was going to take a stance, they should have been transparent and made sure there was clear and thorough communication with students. Furthermore, students should have had a voice in the matter.
There seems to be an argument that we should trust the people that attended that meeting and SOJC Dean Gleason to make that decision for us but I find it invalid.
Trusting Dean Gleason to speak for us is the same as trusting the CEO of a big company to speak for its employees (note: I very much respect Dean Gleason and the SOJC staff, they are all very thoughtful people who wouldn’t take something like this lightly). He’s not necesarily in tune with my interests, he hopefully doesn’t think exactly the same way as I do, there is a possibility that he could be wrong and I didn’t elect him to represent me. This isn’t a normal, write-it-off kind of event, this is the President of the university and a banner on the front of our building. We should be encouraged to do as journalists do and explore all sides of the story. We should be presented with information from both sides. We should have a discussion or a talk with several guest speakers. We should sit down and talk with the President. We should be independent thinkers, and having our leaders stand behind an issue discourages that and encourages us to jump behind the cause rather than thoughtfully defend our positions.
Let’s stop and think, what has Lariviere done that’s bettered the university? And equally, how has he hindered progress? Honestly, at this point, I can’t tell you, I have a lot of research to do. But it is quiet curious that this just popped up, it makes me think that we might be missing some information.
The jury’s out for me on Larieviere’s reinstatement, but I reject the idea of let those in power speak for the masses. Every voice is important. The SOJC mobilized too quickly to get a comprehensive feel for the reactions of its students.
Here’s the question I’m left wondering–where did the money for the banner come from? Even if it was a small amount, it still matters. If the banner was paid for with student fees then if there are students who oppose President Lariviere’s reinstatement, they should be allowed a banner as well.
The Commentator is working on securing a photo of Agate Hall.
Update December 4, 2011: UO SOJC Dean Gleason said in an email that the banner was paid for with faculty money. He also said that he made it clear to the faculty that he was not directing the project.
November 23rd, 2011, 12:23 a.m. President Lariviere asked to resign (contains original email to students). The Cool kids at the Commentator. Oh wait that’s us.
Also, this blog was started in support of Lariviere and there’s a petition here to reinstate Lariviere, which has 2862 signatures as of 12:35 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.
There’s been a bit of a debacle with President Lariviere here at UO. In an email to students, faculty and staff this morning, President Lariviere announced he intends to finish out his contract which ends on June 30, 2012.
Full email here:
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
Earlier today I informed the chair of the State Board of Higher Education of my decision to not resign my position at the University of Oregon. Instead, I am committed to serving as president through the end of my contract on June 30, 2012.
As you know, on Monday I was informed by the State Board of Higher Education that my contract as president will not be renewed. In the hours since news of the State Board decision became public, I have been heartened by the outpouring of support I have received for the work we are doing to reimagine public higher education in Oregon. While the positive comments from members of the campus community and beyond help to galvanize my commitment to this outstanding institution, I hasten to remind you that this is not about me. We must all redouble our efforts to bring about positive change to the governance, funding and accountability of Oregon’s public universities.
Again, I want to thank you all for the excellent work you do. I am, indeed, fortunate to be able to call you colleagues.
According to an official statement by the OUS released earlier today, the board will be “[voting] in a public meeting on Monday, November 28, 2011 regarding the status of the employment agreement of Dr. Richard Lariviere as president of the University of Oregon.” In layman’s terms? They’re going to be voting on whether to fire him that day or not.
The blog We Love Our Pres, created yesterday in support of President Lariviere’s reinstatement, has posted the letter in full, which can be read here. Obviously, they’re not happy about it.
They’re not the only ones, either. In the twenty hours since Lariviere sent out the catalytic email announcing that his contract would not be renewed, support for the President has come flooding in the way only Eugene knows how to flood.
Thirty-six department and program heads of the UO College of Arts and Sciences signed a letter to the board and other state leaders to “express their unequivocal support” of Lariviere and to urge “he be retained.”
[…]
Leaders of the University Senate, which includes faculty, students and staff, met in an emergency session Wednesday.afternoon [sic] to plan action over the next week or two They [sic] immediately started a petition for Lariviere’s reinstatement — collecting 1,600 signatures in the first two hours — and shared information on Facebook and Twitter.
“The very people who obviously are directly connected with the president have had no voice, no voice in this matter,” said Robert Kyr, University Senate president.
[…]
“This is a terrible decision for the university and the State of Oregon that promotes mediocrity rather than rewarding visionary leadership,” said Julia Mee, the [Alumni Association’s] board president. “We urge the board and governor to immediately reverse their decision and reinstate him.
Portland Business Journal highlighted supporters even higher up the chain, with State Senator Floyd Prozanski (or, apparently “Senator Duck” as he likes to be called) coming to Lariviere’s defense:
“I didn’t fully agree with all of the perspective that he brought as president but I honored the man for being able to stand up and say what he believes in,” Prozanski said. “If he’s being canned because he showed some independence, that is wrong. We should be able to have this dialogue between reasonable people, especially in higher education.”
Even the esteemed academics Chip Kelly and Phil Knight provided their individual takes on the matter; Kelly told The Oregonian that he was “really surprised” to hear the news, while Daddy Knight got a bit more creative:
It deeply saddens me that some people in power in our state continue to drive Oregon into a death spiral with their embrace of mediocrity. [This is an] astonishingly bad decision…It’s yet another application of Oregon’s Assisted Suicide law. For the Chancellor and the State Board of Higher Education, a “team player” is someone who falls in line with their acceptance of mediocrity, and the one who strives for excellence does not fit in.
Lariviere is even getting support from people who arguably see him as The Enemy. The United Academics of the University of Oregon, the chief organization behind attempts at faculty unionization at the UO and no friend to Lariviere, said even they would prefer Lariviere over the devil they don’t know:
No one in United Academics expected that President Lariviere would be an ally in the move toward collective bargaining at the University of Oregon. On the contrary, we expected a tough and vigorous negotiation with him. But we would much rather negotiate with a president who understands our priorities and goals for the university’s future than with one who does not.
They went on to note that, “President Lariviere’s termination serves as a reminder that in the absence of a binding contract, faculty, researchers, and teaching staff will remain confined to a limited and ineffectual role in shaping the university’s future.”
Lastly, The Register Guard reports that UO students have taken their own special brand of action: “Students started a Facebook page, Lariviere for UO president, that had more than 800 likes by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, and was drawing messages of support from business people and UO employees.”
So there you have it. Faculty, the University Senate, the Alumni Association, senators, football coaches, billionaires, the AAUP, and a smattering of the student body want to keep Lariviere around, and are gnashing their teeth at the equally gnash-y OUS. It may all come to a head next week with the board’s vote and, shockingly enough, this shit might end up getting crazier.
As for the man himself?
“[After this] There is a very good likelihood I’ll be teaching Sanskrit,” Lariviere told The Oregonian. “That is a prospect that has a lot of appeal.”
The University Senate’s petition to reinstate Lariviere can be found here. The Lariviere for President facebook page, if you’re really that interested, can be found here.
Update: UO Matters has an interesting roadmap of reactions and motivations here.
Yep. You read that right. As of 4pm today, Lariviere has been handed his pink slip.
According to the Williamette Week, Kitzhaber affirmed the decision alongside the OUS, sounding the death knell for President Lariviere tenure. Elaborating on an email sent early Tuesday to UO students, staff, and faculty by the man himself, The Register-Guard has noted that it is “[Larivere’s] intention is to remain in his position until the end of his current contract.”
It’s not news that Lariviere isn’t the OUS’s favorite man: they were none-too-happy about the faculty and administrative raises he helped institute back in September, and practically blew their fancy curled wigs (or whatever the fashion in Salem is these days), when Lariviere bypassed them and took the New Partnership plan straight to the state.
While restraints have previously been placed on Lariviere’s ability to act without board approval, the decision not to extend his contact whatsoever is an unexpected move–and not one that has universal approval. State Representative Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene), for instance, spoke to his worries about the matter in an interview with The Register Guard:
It’s of great concern to me that his contract is not being renewed … he was a great fighter for students, and his proposals would have raised up to $1 billion to support the university long-term…I’m very concerned about our capacity to get a topnotch president in here, who will pursue good policies and initiatives.
It is yet unknown who, if anyone, has been selected to take up the President’s position at the end of the academic year. In fact, it’s pretty safe to say that not much of anything is known right about now. The only certainty is uncertainty.
In the meantime, UO Matters has summed up their ideas on this bombshell, and what we should all do about it, in a refreshingly non-sanitized manner:
Dr. Pernsteiner wins. UO loses. My first thought is there is no way in hell I want to work for George Pernsteiner without a strong faculty union on my side. So let’s start one – where and when can I sign that card check?
Williamette Week has their take on the story here, and The Register Guard has an even more detailed analysis here.
In an email sent out at 11:30 PM tonight, UO President Richard Lariviere notified students of his impending departure from the University of Oregon. After only two and a half years as President the chair of the State Board of Higher Education gave him the choice of immediate resignation or finishing out his contract to July 2012. The full contents of the email are below.
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:
I received news on Monday in a meeting with the chair of the State Board of Higher Education that my contract as president of the University of Oregon will not be renewed. I was told I could resign or accept the termination of my contract, which runs through July 1, 2012, and I am weighing those options at this time.
This turn of events is a result of the ongoing difference of opinion over the future of the UO. But meaningful change often turns on uncomfortable moments, and it is my hope that I will be leaving the university well-positioned to take advantage of ongoing reforms to our state’s system of public universities.
Since becoming the UO’s 16th president in July 2009, my focus has been on enhancing the education of our students at Oregon’s flagship public university. I have sought to do this by focusing on our critical public mission and tapping the brilliance and innovation that resides here among our faculty, staff and students.
The UO has had a leading voice in public discussions that resulted in this year’s legislative overhaul to the structure of Oregon’s entire educational system – from early childhood education through post-doctoral studies. Our bold ideas have led to the promise of additional changes in the not-too-distant future, including eventual consideration of our proposal for individual universities to form local governing boards.
But our primary mission has been to provide educational opportunity and academic excellence, and you have taken both to new heights. Enrollment is at an all-time high this year, topping last year’s record enrollment. Much has been made of our ability to attract out-of-state and international students, but we are also educating more Oregon students than ever before. This year’s freshman class is the most diverse and has the highest grade point average of any incoming class in UO history, and we have raised freshman-to-sophomore retention to a new level.
We are what great students look for in a university. We are different, and embrace difference. We have brilliant, dedicated faculty, cutting-edge research, and award-winning programs. Through careful financial stewardship we were able to give well-earned salary increases to faculty and staff. The UO’s research grant funding is setting records as well.
Even though the past 2 ½ years have been difficult economic times for our entire country, we have generated a quarter of a billion dollars in private gifts at the UO and we have half a billion dollars in ongoing construction projects.
One of my proudest accomplishments is the concerted advocacy for public policy, governance and funding changes to strengthen the university and the entire state. I remain hopeful that honest debate and the exploration of new ideas – whether academic or political – will be celebrated and encouraged.
I wanted you to hear this news from me personally, not read about it elsewhere. I encourage all of you to channel your energy into advancing the momentum we have built together. Thank you for the great work you do. I am intensely proud to be your colleague.
Sincerely,
Richard Lariviere
Now what are we going to do with all these Dick Rivers t-shirts?
Stuck in town for Thanksgiving? Stuck at home for Thanksgiving? Here are some Commentator-approved ideas!
1. In general, Macy’s and drunk should be synonymous, but this should be the case even more so on Thanksgiving. If you’re in for the hours and hours of fun called the Macy’s day parade consider making a pitcher of Mexican Thanksgiving Shots and taking a shot each time you see a marching band.
Recipe: Fill pitcher 1/2 full with Tequila. Fill remaining part of pitcher with Wild Turkey.
Alternatively, check out these holiday shot recipes. And this holiday drinking game.
2. Find a Bank of America and impersonate their door.
3. Capture wild turkey, take it downtown, let it go and then chase it saying “Turkey is friend not food!”
4. Make yourself a meal of traditionally American food, just kidding! Check out these local places that are serving up Thanksgiving dinner. Or, if you’re too lazy, to venture a mile off campus McDonalds is open until 11 a.m. (Ethics and shit: I contribute to MyEugene and have class with the author of that article, so don’t get all crazy and yell at me for bein’ biased, ’cause I told you!)
5. Change all of the Bibles for copies of the Student Insurgent before Thanksgiving service at your church. (I’d link to there blog here but it seems they must be SOOOO busy with their upcoming issue that they had to delete their blog.)
6. And what’s as awesome as walking 2 miles at 9 a.m.? Running 4 miles of course! Sign up for the Turkey Trot 2-mile walk or 4-mile run benefiting Food for Lane County.
7. Oh, and I almost forgot, the university calender says that the Museum of Natural and Cultural History will be showing an exhibit from 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. This couldn’t possibly be wrong, I’m sure they’re open. So make sure and check it out!
You asked for it, so here it is. The new stipend increases for the 2012-2013 year. Bust open your wallets friends and family.
The president and vice president will now be making $600 a month. Chief of staff will be making $350 a month. Your everyday run of the mill senator will be making $150.
When dealing with programs, things get a little bit more complicated. Programs will be split into four classes. Class 1 gets a lump sum of $725 while Class 1 will receive $275 a month. It is up to the group to divide up the money amongst members.
Programs like the Multicultural Center and Women’s Center are exempt from this cap.
So after all these numbers, the moral of the story is that incidental fees will be increasing next year by $93,852. About $4.47 per person. Not terrible.
On Thursday, our fearless leader Ben Eckstein announced that the referendum on the renovation of the EMU will be postponed until spring term.
In a letter written to the ODE today, Eckstein explained his hesitation was due to various concerns from student groups on campus and the lack of student input on part of the design of the EMU.
He explained that it is important to him that students are able to take the lead on this project and doesn’t believe that can be done at this time. By postponing the vote, he is hoping students will be more educated on the changes and decide to speak their opinions.
Another concern of the student body president is the possibility of mid-year tuition increases. If those should be put in place he wants to give the students time to figure out just how much they would be willing to pay for the EMU expansions.
It all comes down to five more months to decide whether or not to redo the EMU.
So what does this mean for an average student? Well, there are three kinds of people who will be affected differently.
First, there are those who have been diligently reading updates on the EMU referendum and anxiously awaiting the vote. Sorry to tell you, you are just going to have to wait to vote. The good news for you is you have more time to obsess over what color you want your group’s office to be.
Second, there are those who didn’t even know it was happening until reading about the postponement. You all have the opprotunity to either become someone from the first category or continue to be someone in the third category. The good news for you is you until spring term to decide!
Lastly, there are those who didn’t care to begin with and won’t care now. These are the kinds of people who don’t read campus publications and don’t even know how to vote. The good news for you is, your life will be exactly the same.
What does this mean for Ben Eckstein?
He pissed even more people off with this one, but a lot of people still don’t really care. Basically his legacy will be changing a date. Big stuff.
What does this mean for the Oregon Commentator?
Now we can finally begin our take over of the EMU, one voter at a time. . .
Nearly a week after the passing of the Nov. 2 deadline for an appeal on the September ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals that invalidated an administrative ban of firearms by the Oregon University System, OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner has announced that they will not seek to appeal the ruling.
After the initial ban in September, University of Oregon president Richard Lariviere sent an email expressing veiled disapproval, but remained unclear about any attempt to appeal the case. ASUO President Ben Eckstein voiced his desire at the time to appeal the “flawed” and “dangerous decision.” Yet no plans to appeal ever surfaced, as Pernsteiner claimed that, “We do not want to go through a long and costly process that may produce the same outcome.”
In wake of the announcement, OUS Director of Communications Di Saunders noted that, “Instead we are putting our efforts into looking at polices already in place to limit gun use on campus.” The current focus for the OUS is ensuring that guns are kept out of certain buildings, already including dorms and sports arenas, but could be extended to classrooms and other buildings.
The announcement comes as no surprise to anyone who realizes that missing a deadline means you’re shit out of luck either way. My guess is that George knew an appeal was hopeless and hoped he could get by with his balls intact when no one noticed him pussy out on everybody. Either that, or he was a little wary of aggressively trying to take away the rights of citizens who choose to defend their liberties with lethal force. It will be a sad day when game day at Autzen will no longer allow the longstanding tradition of Puddles shooting off a round into the opposing team’s marching band section for every Oregon point scored.
The University of Oregon announced yesterday that it has asked the Occupy Eugene camp situated along the Millrace to vacate by the end of the weekend. DPS will be monitoring the move. Many are speculating as to where the next shantytown of democracy will sprout up, but possible locations include the Saturday Market drum circle, Knight library bathrooms, or their ex-girlfriend Tammy’s garage.
Sometimes, in the midst of such prominent debacles as the “arming DPS” argument, the STFU contention, and the “raises disproportionately given to administrators over faculty” snafu, we become blind to the smaller, everyday failings that regularly come to pass on the UO campus. It’s the little things that make life worth boggling over: like, for instance, the impressive display of poor planning that currently resides outside PLC.
For those of you who know nothing about the English/Economics/Cinema Studies/nine-story hodgepodge building, the relevant information is thus: the front of PLC has two small fences positioned at its forefront which function (like every other grounded object in Eugene) as great bike racks. Given their position beside one of the University’s largest lecture halls, these fences have been used as such for many years, and without incident. However, this practice has recently been dubbed unacceptable, and public safety has declared that all bikes attached to these fences will be impounded. It’s all right, though, because they have graciously offered up an alternative mode of bike lock-up.
Yeah.
Again, it must be noted that there are starving children in Africa, and all things considered this is a small issue. However, one should also consider that this is a small, constant reminder of a larger administrative problem. Transportation is, for the vast majority of students, a daily concern, and the University’s shortcomings in regard to it are apparent. How many student editorials have been written about the lack of parking on campus, or the need for more, and more secure, bike lock-ups? In some ways the University has responded well, but in others–such as knocking out entire parking lots with the bureaucratic equivalent of a halfhearted shrug–attention to the issue has been lacking. In this case, the fact that the bike rack in question was delivered in this shape and manner is arguably worse than if nothing had been put in place at all. Getting rid of space for students to park isn’t new; getting rid of it and then replacing it with with an all but intentionally half-assed stand-in really seems to illustrate how many shits campus planners seem to give.
Thankfully, it would at least seem that some pedal-possessing rebels aren’t taking this injustice lying down.
Cycle on, freedom fighters. Cycle on.
Posted in Miscellaneous, University, Worthless | Comments Off on Falling Down On the Job — A “Bike-Friendly” University’s Attempt at Campus Planning
