By Jamilee Lambert
Staff Writer
Pepperdine students will now have a safe way out of a potentially dangerous situation.
With the increasing number of auto accidents involving Seaver students recently, SGA felt that driving safety at Pepperdine should be a priority. This was one of the reasons for the creation of the Safe Rides program, where students can call for a ride if they find themselves unable to drive — for any reason.
“Safety is a very real issue that needs to be addressed at Pepperdine,” SGA President Andrea Krug said. “Whether it be from fatigue, alcohol, or anything else, Safe Rides offers a safe alternative to an unsafe situation.”
SGA Vice-President Ben Elliott worked on this program with Krug, Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Mark Davis, and many other students and SGA officers.
The Safe Rides Program mission statement is “to encourage responsible behavior when under the influence of alcohol by discouraging driving under the influence,” and “to protect students from the hazards of drunk driving and/or drunk drivers by offering a limited but user-friendly alternative to potentially unsafe situations.”
This means not only students who are too drunk to drive will be encouraged to use the service. Anybody who is stranded or is otherwise unable to find a safe ride will be able to call on a taxi.
The program will work by providing each student with three Safe Rides stickers and a card with the telephone number for the United Independent Taxi Drivers in their campus mailboxes at the beginning of next year.
Each time a student wishes to take advantage of the program, they must present a valid Seaver College ID and one sticker to the taxi driver. The driver will print the student’s name on the bill and require a signature from the student at the conclusion of the ride. The bill will then be presented to Pepperdine University for payment. Refusal to sign the bill could result in a loss of privileges.
“We’ve done our research and this is the real deal,” Elliott said of the new program.
This Safe Rides program is similar to a program that was once used by the university. In the former version, calls came directly to the SGA office where students would use university vehicles to pick up fellow students.
The former program failed for several reasons. First, many students were unwilling to use the service because of the lack of anonymity it provided. These students were afraid that others would find out about what they had done.
Another problem was lack of consistency. Rides were only available during limited hours, three nights a week.
One of the provisions of the old program was that one male and one female had to be available to pick up the student. This became a problem because two people weren’t always available to do this.
The new program will make its debut next fall and, if successful, may become a permanent part of SGA programming. However, if funding is not available, or the student body deems it fit, the program may be discontinued.
Funding has been one of the main challenges facing the project. For the pilot program, the SGA has set aside $2,000 from a contingency fund. SGA is also working with the Sigma Chi fraternity to set aside more funds, as well as Coors and Budweiser brewing companies for further grant funding. SGA has also worked with the university in providing long-term funding.
Election of E-Board
After much controversy and drama, Pepperdine’s Student Government Association announced the executive board for the 2002-2003 school year. Class officers were also announced.
Next year’s SGA president will be Ben Elliott. Vice president will be Giuseppe Nespoli, treasurer-elect is Dusty Farned, and Secretary will be Stefanie Wissmann.
Current SGA President Andrea Krug believes that Elliott is the right man for the job. “Ben has a lot of passion and dedication that has shown through this year,” Krug said. “He has a heart for students at Pepperdine and I fell he will make a dynamic student body president.”
Elliott has big plans for Pepperdine student life and campus programs.
“I think the only thing holding SGA back is SGA itself,” Elliott said about the potential the organization has.
New programs scheduled for next year include a Safe Rides program, a Pepperdine movie channel, a sand volleyball court on campus, a year-long lecture series on controversial topics such as abortion and homosexuality, the expansion of Project Serve to international programs, a freedom wall for students to voice their opinions about campus affairs and a permanent carwash on campus.
Elliott also wants to see more programs and events for students on campus. These activities will include lectures, specialty classes such as candlemaking, and concerts, such as the upcoming Californiopia concert to be held in Alumni Park on April 18. The ultimate goal, according to Elliott, is to have something different for students to do each day.
“If nothing else, we should strive to make the most of the student government fee and have fun on campus,” Elliott said.
After two separate runoffs for senior class president, Eddie Policastro emerged victorious. Policastro and his opponent had managed to get the same amount of votes two times in a row.
Jason Palmer was elected junior class president, and Nick Bundra was elected sophomore class president.
April 04, 2002