2008 Woodie Awards
Guest Column: Green theme
Suzie Dundas
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Opinion
In yesterday's article, "Green Parking Permit Planned," students were introduced to an idea that has some students more than slightly upset - offering discounted parking permits for students who drive hybrid cars. I write today to express my support for the proposed "green" parking permits on the campus and offer justification for the implementation of this plan. As the former chair of the Student Government Association's Environmental Affairs Committee, I have seen not only the importance of encouraging students to "go green" on the campus, but also the difficulties of making this goal a reality. Often students pay lip service to the idea of living an eco-friendly life butstill refuse to leave their floor of South Campus Commons to drop off a bag of recyclables. As the flagship university in the state, and one of the leading science and research institutions in the country, it seems almost hypocritical that we have done so much in the way of global research yet so little in the way of global protection. By that I don't mean protecting our dorms from intruders or making sure terrorists don't sneak onto the campus but taking steps to minimize our impact on the earth for posterity. It is our job as involved, passionate students to lead the way in global issues and awareness, and I have seen in my experience at the university that there is no shortage of enthusiasm when students find a cause around which to rally.
During my time as the SGA Environmental Affairs Committee chair, the school successfully held two end-of-the-year collection drives for charity, celebrated Earth Day with a fair on McKeldin Mall and even got the state to pass a $32,000 bill entirely dedicated to bringing recycling to Fraternity Row. These accomplishments were not done via a top-down leadership style but rather from the bottom up. The goals were met not by one person or one committee, but by students working together as volunteers, campus organizations lsuch as MaryPIRG and many hours of late-night planning and meeting.
Now, we have the chance to make an easy change - offering a new parking permit - that could have a huge impact. By offering a green parking permit, we can reward those students who drive Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicles, Super-Low Emissins Vehicles and zero-emissions vehicles (the cars senior Jeff Gamerman so eloquently referred to as "pansy" vehicles in yesterday's article) for making an earth-friendly decision, while those who prefer to stick to traditional cars will not be affected. Although the permit may not be the sole reason for the purchase of a hybrid, it will provide additional incentive for those on the fence about which car to purchase or bring to the campus. As Department of Transportation Services Director David Allen made clear, the cost of the new permits will be entirely absorbed by the department and not passed to students. This is a positive step for DOTS - the campus organization probably most often criticized for being insensitive to the needs and requests of students - yet it is receiving flack and criticism for trying to make this a reality.
Indeed, the idea of offering green parking permits is not nearly as radical as student reactions may first suggest. The city of Berkeley, Calif., (home of our peer institution of the same name) provides not discounted, but free parking for electric vehicles. In L.A., home to peer institution UCLA, zero-emissions vehicles and SULEVs (some of which are not even hybrids) can park for free at city meters. By comparison, merely lowering the cost of a permit seems like anything but a radical step.
The animosity against this plan - a small step at no cost to students - leads me to wonder why there is such ill-will toward hybrids on the campus. Is it because students feel guilt-tripped into buying them? Because they feel guilty for buying non-hybrid cars? The stereotype of hybrid drivers as granola-eating, patchouli-wearing, bleeding-heart liberals is no more true than the stereotype that people with a pickup truck are just waiting for the day they can cover their back window with a soaring eagle sticker and carry around their handgun in their Timberlands. And as for comments that hybrid cars are slow, I'd like to remind Gamerman of the speed record held by a Prius hybrid -- 130 mph. That would allow me to get from Baltimore to my new, eco-friendly parking space on the campus in 15 minutes. The only difference between Gamerman's car and mine is that I won't have to stop for gas to get there.
Suzie Dundas is an alumna and former chair for the SGA Environmental Affairs Committee. She can be reached at suziedundas@gmail.com.
During my time as the SGA Environmental Affairs Committee chair, the school successfully held two end-of-the-year collection drives for charity, celebrated Earth Day with a fair on McKeldin Mall and even got the state to pass a $32,000 bill entirely dedicated to bringing recycling to Fraternity Row. These accomplishments were not done via a top-down leadership style but rather from the bottom up. The goals were met not by one person or one committee, but by students working together as volunteers, campus organizations lsuch as MaryPIRG and many hours of late-night planning and meeting.
Now, we have the chance to make an easy change - offering a new parking permit - that could have a huge impact. By offering a green parking permit, we can reward those students who drive Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicles, Super-Low Emissins Vehicles and zero-emissions vehicles (the cars senior Jeff Gamerman so eloquently referred to as "pansy" vehicles in yesterday's article) for making an earth-friendly decision, while those who prefer to stick to traditional cars will not be affected. Although the permit may not be the sole reason for the purchase of a hybrid, it will provide additional incentive for those on the fence about which car to purchase or bring to the campus. As Department of Transportation Services Director David Allen made clear, the cost of the new permits will be entirely absorbed by the department and not passed to students. This is a positive step for DOTS - the campus organization probably most often criticized for being insensitive to the needs and requests of students - yet it is receiving flack and criticism for trying to make this a reality.
Indeed, the idea of offering green parking permits is not nearly as radical as student reactions may first suggest. The city of Berkeley, Calif., (home of our peer institution of the same name) provides not discounted, but free parking for electric vehicles. In L.A., home to peer institution UCLA, zero-emissions vehicles and SULEVs (some of which are not even hybrids) can park for free at city meters. By comparison, merely lowering the cost of a permit seems like anything but a radical step.
The animosity against this plan - a small step at no cost to students - leads me to wonder why there is such ill-will toward hybrids on the campus. Is it because students feel guilt-tripped into buying them? Because they feel guilty for buying non-hybrid cars? The stereotype of hybrid drivers as granola-eating, patchouli-wearing, bleeding-heart liberals is no more true than the stereotype that people with a pickup truck are just waiting for the day they can cover their back window with a soaring eagle sticker and carry around their handgun in their Timberlands. And as for comments that hybrid cars are slow, I'd like to remind Gamerman of the speed record held by a Prius hybrid -- 130 mph. That would allow me to get from Baltimore to my new, eco-friendly parking space on the campus in 15 minutes. The only difference between Gamerman's car and mine is that I won't have to stop for gas to get there.
Suzie Dundas is an alumna and former chair for the SGA Environmental Affairs Committee. She can be reached at suziedundas@gmail.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Sacha
posted 3/16/08 @ 1:05 AM EST
UC Berkeley and UCLA are the ASPIRATIONAL peer institutions of UMCP. UMCP aspires to be at the same level as those schools, but it is simply not there yet. (Continued…)
Terp08
posted 3/17/08 @ 11:06 AM EST
When do I get paid for walking everyday? What about the people who take mass transit, why don't we reward them? We don't get money from the University to commute in the most environmentally friendly ways. (Continued…)
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