W.C. Lawson |
With the funding from ASUP’s Major Project Fund, student clubs and organizations now have access to vans for carpooling off campus.
This semester ASUP purchased two new (2013 and 2012) Dodge Caravans with money from their Major Project Fund (MPF) for use by student clubs, halls and other school organizations.
“This is an advantage for both short and long-term use,” Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler said. “The vans are at our convenience when we need them, and we can save money from renting vans when a group wants to travel.”
ASUP President junior Quin Chadwick said that this purchase has long been on the priority list of the MPF, and ASUP had been saving to purchase these new vans. They cost a little over $33,000 total.
“They were rarely used at the dealership as shuttle vans,” Koffler said. “So they have very, very low miles on them.”
Even though ASUP donated the vans to the University, they still have first priority to use the vans if they need them. After ASUP, what follows is a “first come, first serve” basis for any student club, hall retreat or other kinds of University-sanctioned events.
Pilot Express will also be able to use these vans to transport students to and from the airport for breaks and for the beginning and end of the school year.
If a student group is interested in checking out one of the vans, the group will need to have at least one member be a certified University driver. To achieve certification, the student must take a driving course at Public Safety. The course includes a lecture, as well as a video presentation of safe-driving techniques. All courses are scheduled on an “as-needed” basis for when students sign up on the course list.
“The student driver training takes approximately one hour, and once completed the students are certified for their remaining time here at the University,” Director of Public Safety Gerald Gregg said. “This is a great opportunity and partnership between ASUP and the University in providing these vans for our students.”
The next student driving course will be Tuesday, March 4 at 5 p.m. in Buckley Center Auditorium.
“We are really excited to have these vans,” Chadwick said. “We think this will make it easier for some groups to get off campus on the weekends without messy carpool situations.”
