The Prairie Issue VII

6

the Prairie

News

Students unaware of Shuttle Services at WTAMU

Transportation available to help alleviate parking problems

MARIA MOLINA Editor

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month and a half has passed since the beginning of the Fall semester and students are not aware of the Shuttle Services being offered by WTAMU. “There is still quite a few [students] that don´t know they can park in First

United Bank Center,” Vicky Halsey, bus driver, said.

“We still have kids parking in the community and neighborhood.”

This service has been available for several years now, but on Feb. 2010, a new route was created to take students from the FUBC to the rest of campus.

“We have two shuttle buses,” Meri Lin O´dell, director of police

STEPHEN INLGLE

administration, said. “They both begin service at 7:30 a.m. from the FUBC.” Samantha Gibson, senior speech communication major, takes the shuttle bus every day and says that the service has been helpful this semester and that construction has limited the parking availability on campus.

“I have class Monday through Thursday and the �irst couple of weeks I didn´t �ind a [parking] spot.” Gibson said. “It helps the madness of �inding space in the FAC.” Even though some students are not aware of the shuttle bus service, an increase in number of persons riding the buses is already being seen.

“I used to ride with one or two people,” Gibson said. “Now 50 or 60

percent of seats are taken.”

Gibson says that the two buses that are available now are comfortable, but that maybe in the future it would be a good idea to add a new bus.

“Right now [the service] is steadily growing, if it continues, I see the need for another bus so you don´t have to wait causing you to be late,” Gibson said.

Halsey believes it would be bene�icial to have another drop off on campus to give more options to students.

“It would be nice if we could have a drop off on the north side in the Engineering and Nursing [building]. Right now [the service] is only central campus,” Halsey said.

The Police Administration does not know if this will be an

option for the future.

“I really have no opinion about additional buses or different buses because that is not within my area of control,” O´dell said. “We simply use the equipment as provided by the University.”

The shuttle buses are available in two different routes. The smaller shuttle, “Buffalo Express”, drives to the south entrance of the Activity Center, continues to the east side of the Pedestrian Mall, and returns to the FUBC to start the route again. This bus runs from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The second shuttle drives to the west side of the Pedestrian Mall and returns to the FUBC to begin the route again. The bus runs from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Speech honors hosts debaters from Europe Co m p e t i t i o n w i l l s h ow a n a l y t i ca l s i d e o f d e b a te DAVID MERAZ Staff Reporter

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ambda Pi Eta National Communication Honor Society will host the United Kingdom Debaters on Oct. 20. Members from WTAMU Forensics Team will be paired up with the British debaters to compete that night.

Visiting from the United Kingdom is University of Oxford graduate, Lewis Iwu and University of Cambridge graduate, Mary Nugent. Both Iwu and Nugent will arrive at WT on Oct. 19.

“Some other schools [where Iwu and Nugent] will

be competing at are Baylor [in Waco], Texas State in San Marcos and then the University of North Texas in Denton,” Dr. Trudy Hanson, department of communication head, said. “They end their tour of the United States in San Francisco at the National Communication Association.”

Representing the WT Forensics Team will be, junior advertising and public relations major, Erin Marvin and graduate student in communication, Bethany Beck.

“The style of debate that will be happening Wednesday night is very different than what you would observe in

an actual competitive debate round. Wednesday will almost seem like a forum or panel,” Marvin said.

The debate will be less structured than the competition a speech team would normally participate in at a tournament.

“We will merely be discussing the facts and our opinions with one another,” Marvin said. “In actual parliamentary debate, the debate is very structured.

There are time limits on speaking time, and the arguments themselves have a particular procedure.”

The debate issue will be, “If this house would allow

prayer in school,” Hanson said. The “House” is the ruling government.

“I will most de�initely be spending time researching the history behind it and studying the implications it has in our

current society, along with what current events made this resolution important enough to debate,” Marvin said.

The debate will be at the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, Room 109 at 6 p.m.

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