Green ways to get around campus

You’ve just woken up with five minutes until class, and walking takes 15. You would drive, but you’re up to four parking tickets.

For those students with bikes, skateboards or scooters at Fairfield University, this isn’t a problem.

“I find skating to class makes the commute that much more enjoyable,” said Alex Gonzalez ‘12. “A lot of people, they walk to class and they’re dreading it. At least it’s a fun little journey before you get to your destination.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU0cXJRCSHo

Similar sentiments can be found around campus. “If it’s nice out and I have to leave the Village, I’m skating wherever I have to go,” said Claver Hall resident Sal Trifilio ‘14.

Even though they require more effort, some feel it is more sensible to use these ways of getting around rather than driving a car.

“Obviously, there are practical reasons to not drive,” explained Dana August ‘11, head of the University’s new recycling program. She went on to list “limited parking spaces on campus, high gas prices [and] a general concern for increased levels of methane and CO₂ in the atmosphere.”

Associate Director of Public Safety Frank Ficko said, “There’s no $60 registration fee when you have a bike on campus.”

However, driving and walking seem to be the preferred ways of getting around for students at Fairfield University. A survey of the bike racks around campus revealed just less than 100 being stored, compared to the total undergraduate population of 3,385.

“I think the general population at Fairfield is used to being entitled,” commented August in regard to those who drive to class.

In an effort to promote environmental yet quick ways of getting to class, the University started a bike rental program three years ago, according to McCormick Area Coordinator Ange Concepcion.

“The bike program was first started in Dolan Hall … when the shuttle was discontinued to Dolan Hall,” she explained. Currently, there are 12 bikes available in the program.

As to the success of these programs, Concepcion said, “Last semester, the bikes were used very frequently … we had to change our bike rental policy. There were many times in which bikes were unavailable and students were looking to check them out.”

Gonzalez painted a different picture: “It’s a shame … no one uses it.”

Currently, any student can check out a bike for a 24-hour period between Monday and Friday during Residence Life office hours, according to Concepcion. In addition to an initial $5 deposit, late fees are $5 per day.

Ficko assured the Department of Public Safety also promotes the use of human-powered transportation.

“We encourage it because of the parking crunch on campus,” he explained. “It [campus] is bicycle friendly … as long as there isn’t snow on the ground or ice conditions.”

However, Ficko still stressed the importance of safety. “We encourage all students to wear helmets,” he said. “We have had accidents on campus, pedestrian-vehicle accidents with injuries, and a helmet would be a very wise safety precaution.”

However, there are no official rules in the student handbook that allow Public Safety to enforce this advice.

“The officer might stick his head out the window and say, ‘Hey man, you should be wearing a helmet,’” Ficko explained. “But insofar as stopping them and giving them a ticket … or confiscating their skateboard? I don’t think that would go over too well.”

Despite a lack of regulations, some students have still had run-ins with campus police.

According to Gonzalez, “I was holding onto the back of my friend’s car going up from Jogues because it was all uphill. Public Safety caught me on radar … I think I was going 35.”

He continued: “I didn’t get any ticket because there’s no rule I broke, but my friend got reckless driving.” Gonzalez concluded that he respected their decision to put a stop to his behavior.

Others shared stories that did not involve DPS, yet stressed the importance of being careful.

Trifilio was one of the few to get injured, saying, “I did break my collarbone last semester.”

Junior Jon Wallace shared a less intense but similar story: “It was 9:30, and I was extremely tired. I was going really fast … and boom. Backpack, everything, in front of a bunch of people.”

“[I] showed up in class with a bloody elbow and everything,” he continued. “But hey, it’s worth it.”