Green Oxford clarifies sustainability goal
We would like to clarify a few issues regarding the April 10 article about sustainability in Oxford. We are unsure what the Go Green Initiative refers to, as this is not something we have advocated for. The document we are encouraging the administration to sign is the Presidents' Climate Commitment (PCC).The PCC is a national effort that seeks to make universities across the country leaders in addressing climate change. We have only introduced this to President David Hodge and did not expect him to sign it until its implications are fully understood. By signing the PCC, the president agrees to set up a committee to guide the process of developing a plan for climate neutrality. We do not have all of the solutions for reaching the long-term goal of climate neutrality but we must begin by putting this mechanism into place. The PCC allows for flexibility. It does not require specific financial commitments, nor does it mandate specific dates for reaching this goal.
We realize that the PCC is bold, challenging and carries a certain amount of risk. However, we believe that the problems of global climate change are serious enough to warrant this action and that the greatest risk in this situation is inaction. We will have difficulty explaining to future generations why we choose complacency when we were fully aware of the threat. While using energy-efficient lightbulbs and recycling waste are both great, these are simply not enough to fully address the problem. We need to fundamentally rethink the way we build and heat our buildings, generate electricity and deal with transportation.
To date, 166 colleges and universities in the United States have signed the PCC. Many of these schools share similar economic and physical characteristics with Miami. These schools have recognized the imperative of this situation and have taken a proactive role in. As a publicly funded institution of higher learning, Miami has a moral obligation to be at the forefront of environmental stewardship.
We have the option of being leaders in this area or getting left behind. We encourage everyone to learn more about PCC at www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
charles weberpresident, green oxford
tom schmidtvice president, green oxfordschmidtw@muohio.edu
Miami earns blame for Metro stop issues
In your haste to discredit a service provided to Miami students, you have chastised Laidlaw (the current Metro bus provider) with problems that may well be contributed to the parking and transportation services of Miami University. Miami dictates to Laidlaw, as well as the past bus service provider, Hamilton Tours, concerning routes, times, placement of bus stop signs and the schedules printed on those signs. A couple of years ago, Miami Metro served the East quad. Miami decided to stop that service, when asked why the service was stopped we received an answer that I believe is best not printed.
Two years ago, a representative of Miami University rode along with all the drivers in one bus to address concerns by the drivers as to stops that should be moved, as they presented a danger to both students and other vehicles, along with bus stop signs that have disappeared; to this date almost three years later those issues have not acted upon.
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Miami chose to change the schedules of most buses making all routes either 20 or 30 minutes duration, when asked why, the answer was that most students cannot understand the schedule. All the Red and Yellow routes were made 30 minutes making times inconvenient, because Oxford or Miami wants to keep the buses off of High Street, west of Main and College streets, 30 minutes on these routes is not necessary. When the Red and Yellow routes were 25 minutes, students could rely on a bus to get them to Laws or Shriver.
The Blue Route is one of the longer and most used routes but Miami University chose to change that route from a comfortable 25 minute route to 20 minutes, making it almost impossible to stay on time. The Green Route is without question the longest route, Miami chose to retain the 30 minute schedule on that route. The Purple routes have been changed the past year or so from a 15 minute route to 20 minutes and that change has not affected the ridership nor student convenience. Most bus drivers are scheduled to work between seven and eight hours without a break or lunch period, so when you see a driver taking an "intermittent break," it is most likely for a restroom stop or to be at an assigned destination so that his or her route can accomodate Miami's schedule.
I strongly believe that most students appreciate the bus service as well as the greater population of drivers as being courteous and friendly, and in all fairness you may have interviewed less than an appreciative amount of the student body that uses the bus service.
harry starkeyharry.starkey@hughes.net
myMiami e-mail woes need urgent attention
Miami University is a place where about 15,000 people rely on the school to add something to their lives. So as I log onto the seemingly sophisticated myMiami, I sit and wait, and wait and wait for my e-mail to load. What is basically my only communication portal to students always seems to slow me down right when I need it most. As I describe my problem to a friend at another institution, he cannot relate. I guess this means that a school almost three times the size of Miami has implemented a system that can handle such demand. Why hasn't Miami?
jordan schoenfeldschoenj2@muohio.edu
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