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Show ' f Page 4 The Thunderbird. Monday March. 25, 1985 Opinion Security to crack down on off'road vehicles The SUSC Security office has announced a crackdown on vehicles on campus. people who ride motorcycles and The Thunderbird believes that although this action will probably be anything but popular, it is long past due, and we applaud it. The policy is really nothing more than enforcing laws already on the books. Riding vehicles and motorcycles on campus is illegal. The fine can sometimes range up to $299, plus costs to fix any damage caused. That the policy probably wont be very popular with students is understandable. Many students enjoy the convenience of riding bicycles, mopeds or motorcycles to and from class. But even so even with the inconvenience this will cause students should realize that this is a wise policy, for several reasons. First, safety must be considered. People who ride around campus while other students are walking never intend to hit anyone. If accidents were intentional, they wouldnt be called accidents. And, as far as we are able to discover, no one has been injured in pedestrian-relate- d accidents lately. Still, accidents do happen, and it is wise to keep motorcycles and pedestrians in different areas. We dont suggest that no allowances be made for people who ride bicycles or motorcycles to class, but these people should not ride on sidewalks. The security office probably wont be strict in enforcing this law and maybe thats for the best but The Thunderbird hopes people will made it their own policy to stay off sidewalks when there are pedestrians on them. And, as enforcement of the existing state law begins here at SUSC, we hope parking for bicycles and motorcycles away from sidewalks and pedestrian crossings will be improved and expanded. Another reason we applaud the security crackdown is the amount of damage done on campus by motorcycles and vehicles. Security Chief Kent D. Hoyt reports that sprinkler heads which may cost up to $200 each have been destroyed by people riding over them. And thats not all the damage and vandalism these vehicles have caused. Even though most of that damage was caused winter quarter, there is no reason to believe people wont ride vehicles on campus during the spring, when the weather is wonderful, and people want to spend their free time riding on the grass, and ripping it up. And such behavior should not be condoned by anyone. If not for moral reasons, people should be upset because it is their tax money that goes to pay for the damage people mindlessly cause. the lawn is not Replacing broken equipment and cheap, and the money comes almost directly from your pockets. The Thunderbird believes this new effort to enforce relevant state laws is the right idea. Regretfully, it may mean inconvenience to students, but we believe that people who truly consider the issue will see how correct it really is. off-roa- d off-roa- get-toug- h off-roa- off-roa- d d Che Chunderbird THE sTUIM-N- NEW'S AND VIEWS-C- SOUTHERN UTAH STATE UOIJ.b'GE CEDAR CITY. UTAH VOLUME 79, NUMBER 24 Editor Doug Christensen Associate Editor Ralph Schriock Copy Editor Paul Husselbee Photo Editors James Howells Derek Miller Sports Editor Joe Cartwright Entertainment Editor Jim Knowlton Senior Staff Writer Stewart Smith Assistant to the Editors Annette Grooms Production Manager Kelli Foy Advertising Representativfcjj lohn B. Greene Bean Goettlich Faculty Adviser Larry Baker The Thunderbird is published each Monday of the academic year by and for the student body of Southern Utah State College. The views and opinions expressed in The Thunder-birare the opinions of the publications individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the institution, faculty, staff or student body in general. The unsigned editorial directly above is the opinion of The Thunderbird as a single entity. Letters to the editor must be typed and include the name, student number (if from a student) and phone number. Only the name will be printed. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the editor reserves the right to edit letters for length and to preclude libel. Letters must be submitted by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week's edition. The Thunderbird: editorial and advertising offices at 29 West 200 South, Cedar City, 7758. UT 84720. Mail at SUSC Box 384. Cedar City, UT 84720 (801) Held at mercy of Not my department Access is a recurring column in which students and other members of the campus community share views of interest. Paul Husselbee is a senior, and serves as copy editor for The Thunderbird. Being held at the mercy of your own governments officials in a foreign country is not the most pleasant experience I can think of. And if Jack Anderson d is bad, Im thinks the Washington here to tell him he aint seen nothin yet. Let him go through all the hassles I put up with in getting a visa for my wife from an American consulate overseas, and then Ill let him tell me about bureaucracy. For four months, my wife Ana and I went through a circus of instructions, applications, documents and denials. Every time I called the consulate in Madrid, I had to talk to a different person, and each one seemed to have the same answer: Thats not my department, but if youll wait, Ill put you on hold and transfer your call... A variety of consular officers each had his or her own formula for obtaining the visa in question. Three different employees, all Americans, gave different descriptions of necessary documents. The fourth, a Spaniard, told me something entirely different. Let me say that I speak Spanish about as well as any Yankee Ive ever met, and I still cant understand what that lady was frying to tell me. I made up not one but four different affidavits demonstrating my ability to financially support my wife when she arrived in the country. When it seemed we had provided every docun.ent the consulate had asked for, Ana was told she couldnt have the visa. When she asked why, the vice consul said, I dont have to issue this visa if I dont want to, and I dont want to. Come back next year and well see. With that, I took time off work and went to Spain. Id just clear up the misunderstanding and wed be on our way. Merry-Go-Roun- Yeah, sure. We were sent all over the place to get documents. From our small pueblo on the southeastern coast, we made one trip to Barcelona and three to Madrid. We exhausted all of our resources, and did everything they asked. Again we were denied. Finally, I asked to see the General Consul, and we found a friend. Quite by coincidence, I was wearing a polo shirt with SUSC Basketball Coaching Staff emblazoned over the heart. The man saw the shirt and went bananas. His name was Blaine Tueller. He said hed graduated from SUSC back when it was called Branch Bureaucracy can be stifling ... unless you happen to run into a fellow SUSCer overseas. Agricultural College. (And yes, he is related to Rod Tueller. Theyre brothers.) d When I told Mr. Tueller of the wed been getting, feathers hit the fan at the consulate. He set the bureaucratic wheels in motion, and we received the visa just a day before we were scheduled to fly back to New York. I enjoyed the time we spent in Spain, seeing all my friends and family. But I resent the people who assumed the role of God in granting or denying visas to people who have a right to them. By the way, I did strike back where I thought it was fair. A few hours after the vice consul begrudgingly gave us the visa, he called our hotel to ask for additional information. When the call came through, I thought for a moment, and said, Thats not my department, but if youll wait, Ill put you on hold and transfer your call... run-aroun- |