TECHNICIAN
tuesday november
5
2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Triangle bus fares could increase next year Joseph Havey
Deputy News Editor
Some public transportation options in Raleigh may get slightly more expensive next year. Capital Area Transit and the Triangle Transit Authority have proposed rate increases for bus rides that would be implemented during 2014 and 2015. “With changes to the federal transportation law last year, we, like other transit
systems, will now be getting a much lower level funding available for bus purchases,” said Brad Schulz, communications officer for Triangle Transit. “The revenue from a fare increase is an important part of the financial strategy to keep our bus fleet in good working condition.” The proposed increases could mean fares will change from $1 to $1.25 in 2014 and then again to $1.50 in 2015. Regional rides could increase from $2 to $2.25 in 2014 and
then again to $2.50 in 2015. Schulz said it has been eight years since Triangle Transit established the current $2 base fare. Schulz said Triangle Transit has been able to keep fare levels constant while modestly increasing service, through finding operating efficiencies and cut low-producing service. Triangle Transit has also frozen or limited salary increases and pursued federal grants. “Despite all these efforts,
our operating costs have increased faster than fare revenues, and federal and state grants have been f lat or shrinking,” Schulz said. “That’s put increasing pressures on local revenue sources.” Schulz said most of the costs of operating Triangle Transit’s bus service are tied to wages and benefits of bus operators, supervisors and mechanics. That includes increases in health insurance. Fuel prices are also signifi-
cant chunk of rising costs, Schulz said. Diesel prices are much higher today than eight years ago. Schulz also said Triangle Transit needs to replace its fleet of 60 buses and 26 paratransit vehicles during the next 10 years. In the past, federal dollars were available to pay for 80 percent of the cost of vehicles, Schulz said. Christine Klein, the public communication specialist for NCSU Transportation, said it is unclear whether or not
this proposed rate increase would impact her department’s costs. “We have a negotiated rate with both CAT and Triangle Transit,” Klein said. “We’re reviewing our ridership and budget to be prepared.” Currently, N.C. State students have the option to ride most CAT and Triangle Transit routes for free, through the GoPass program. N.C. State faculty and staff members
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Speaker discusses importance of ecological awareness Sam Loomis Correspondent
MOLLY DONOVAN/TECHNICIAN
David Fiala, a graduate student in computer science and engineering, debates with Professor David Zonderman, the head of the history department, regarding the new legislation in North Carolina that requires people to have several forms of identification in order to register to vote.
Professors and students debate, agree N.C. voter law discriminates Sarah Ray Correspondent
A group of N.C. State students and professors came to a consensus Monday that several parts of a voting law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly last summer are blatantly discriminatory. The Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service held its first Compelling Conversations event in Witherspoon Student Center. The night’s discussion emphasized the aspects of the new North Carolina voting law that specifically affects college students and new vot-
ers. The law was passed last July after only three days of debate. Topics included a requirement that voters have a government-issued photo ID to be able to vote, a shortened early voting period, and an elimination of both same-day registration and the ability to cast votes outside of home districts. Republicans have said these changes will help prevent voter fraud. However the Compelling Conversations participants all said the changes are a blatant attempt to suppress certain demographics of voters. They also said that voter fraud is rare and very difficult to actually
achieve. The participants said that without a tangible threat of voter fraud, lawmakers sought to implement these policies for the sole purpose of increasing the difficulty of voter participation for those demographics that tend to vote democratically. These include college students, most minority groups and lower-income households. Community Outreach Coordinator of the Student Leadership branch of CSLEPS, Spechel Wooten, said she sought to change the
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The College of Natural Resources hosted Mary Freeman from the University of Georgia on Monday, who spoke about the lack of awareness of ecological problems. Freeman, a research ecologist for the United States Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, lectured audiences mainly about river basin ecology in the Southeast. She said human settlements have taken a toll on fish populations there. By comparing descriptions from the first ichthyologists in North America to today’s known species, Freeman said scientist have identified 39 species and 18 subspecies that are now extinct. “Most of these have happened in my lifetime,” Freeman said. The lecture, “Informing Conservation of a Biological Treasure Close to Home,” covered problems associated with biological diversity and the ecological importance of fish in the southeastern United States. Freeman said that as of 2010, there are about 1,200 species of freshwater fish identified in North America. About one-half of those live in the Southeast. “Really, though, we’re not aware of this fauna,” Freeman said. Freeman said humans impact the river ecology in three ways: dams, changing land use and water supply. Freeman said that dams along the Alabama, Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers have harmed many aquatic species in the region, such as the American eel, which has disappeared from the Upper Coosa River. Freeman’s lecture also covered her and her colleagues’ involvement in housing development in the Etowah River Basin in Georgia during the
past few years. They found that many species of fish were sensitive to the creation of impervious land cover, which includes structures made from impenetrable materials such as concrete or asphalt. Freeman said they developed a habitat conservation plan to diminish the impact of development on river ecology. Freeman said that determining the effect of human water usage is difficult due to an imprecise knowledge of river flow in specific areas. However, old rainfall data was applied to new simulation software in order to model the current state of the rivers, as well as predict the effects of water withdrawal and storage. This simulation software was applied to study the effects of water usage on the ACF River Basin, which spans regions in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Freeman compared the basin to a “political hot potato.” Freeman said that more recently, she and her group at USGS applied the simulation software to study the effects of climate change on fish populations. Freeman ended by highlighting the lack of awareness of ecological diversity in southeast United States river basins and the importance of outreach. “You can’t appreciate things you don’t know about,” Freeman said. Freeman also emphasized the uncertainty inherent in pure modeling, saying that accurate predictions can only be made with up-to-date field data. “We’ve got to invest in monitoring,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to invest in field work.” Monday’s event celebrated the
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Teachers increase use of social media as a learning tool Joseph Havey Deputy News Editor
“I’ve been using it ever since,” Kelley said. “It’s not something I demand of students because not everyone feels comfortable using Twitter. Some feel it’s personal, so I don’t make it part of a student’s grade.” Kelley said she likes social media because she can share things about herself in real life. “It’s good for discussion because I can pose questions to broader topics outside the classroom,” Kelley said. “I try to keep things fun. I tweet about going to the gym or about an awards show I’m watching just so people know
SOCIAL continued page 2
Faculty Professional Use
Faculty Personal Use
16.1%
55.0%
45.0%
13.6% 70.3%
Faculty Teaching Use
Key Monthly+
41.0%
59.0%
Rarely Do not use
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GRAPHS BY MATT CONRAD SOURCE: PEARSON LEARNING SOLUTIONS
University professors are using social media more as digital communication becomes more commonplace. A new study released this month by Pearson Learning Solutions and the Babson Survey Research Group found that a majority of the faculty members who responded to the survey use social media both personally and professionally. The survey of more than 8,000 faculty members also found that 41 percent of college professors use social media in the classroom, up from just about 34 percent in 2012.
Blair Kelley, an associate professor of history, said professors can use Twitter to give students a broader sense of who they are as scholars. “I think people are starting to listen,” Kelley said. “When I first joined Twitter, people asked why I would want so many followers. They thought it was a violation of privacy, but I think people are realizing that what you put on there is under your control. I see more and more academics joining in the broad conversation now.” Kelley said she joined Twitter four years ago to prove to a friend it wasn’t worth the time. However, once she got her account, she loved it.