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Show W E B E R S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y The New dean getting down to business See page 6 TUESDAY, JULY f 2 , 2005 wsusignpost.com VOLUME 68 ISSUE 5 Overnight parking for permits Final campout takes place as future passes will be sold online . By JASON STALEY managing editor | The Signpost Students lined the front of the Dee Events Center from Sunday morning to Monday morning like groupies trying to get into an Aerosmith concert. Unlike the groupies, the students were not waiting to see Steven Tyler's lips; they were waiting in line to purchase parking passes for the upcoming school year. This is the last time students will have to camp to get a pass. After this year, students may buy parking passes online. Some students arrived at the Dee Events Center on Sunday as early as 10 a.m. so they could stake their claim on the tickets that went on sale Monday at 630 a.m. Weber State University sophomore Erica Hadley arrived Sunday at 1 p.m. and slept next to the wildcat statue in front of the building as she waited to buy her A2 parking pass. "It wasn't bad; everybody was really, really nice," she said. This year, WSU Parking Services used a new tactic to make buying parking permits easier. Parking service employees passed out armbands to students, much like the armbands used by Smith's Tix for concerts, guaranteeing them an A lot pass. The armbands were divided into different colors designating the different A lots. At 5:30 a.m., on Monday, parking service employees began passing out the armbands. By 6:30 a.m., the only lots left were A7 and A9. When WSU student Brian Hains arrived Sunday at 4:45 p.m. so he could obtain an A6 pass, there were about 50 See Parking page 3 Students play the board game 'Risk' early Monday morning while waiting in line for parking passes. Canines, critters, kids Married students invited raid Union Building cam us P Dorms east of Promontory to reopen temporarily to accommodate married couples By BLAIR HODGES news editor | The Signpost Jeanette Zimmerman wanted a fun and inexpensive activity for her two children. The Canine and Critter Day, sponsored by the non-traditional students at Weber State University, was just the thing to entertain her family in the dog days of summer. "I sawit in the paper, and thought it would be a fun, free thing to dp," Zimmerman said. "My kids and I love animals." When Paul Grindrod, an education specialist from the Ogden Nature Center brought out Rosie, a rose-haired Chilean tarantula, Zimmerman and her children went quickly from the front row to the back. Grindrod assured her that being bitten by a tarantula wouldn't be much worse than a common bee sting, as long as there were no allergic reactions. The statement wasn't comforting to Zimmerman, who explained with a nervous giggle: "I just don't like creepy things." Rosie wasn't the only critter Grindrod brought to the activity. To the delight of some and the disgust of others, Grindrod presented a California king snake to the children. According to Grindrod, the snake was given its name due to its dominance over other snakes. "They eat a wide variety of foods: Eggs, to Uve on By BECKY PALMER special assignments editor Nora Horsley and her dog, a Briard named Matisse, do a freestyle dance. birds, mice and rats and other snakes, including rattlesnakes," Grindrod said. "They aren't poisoned by them." . A group of approximately 30 children See Critters page 3 The Signpost TWenty-four residential units on Weber State University campus will be open in August to married couples in two buildings that were "moth-balled" after University Village was built in 2002. The buildings to be reopened, La Sal Hall and Stansbury Hall, have suite-style apartments, each of which includes a kitchen and one and a half bathrooms. The decision to reopen these buildings was made by the WSU President's Council in mid-July after one year of experience with married students prompted a feasibility study examining whether the buildings were livable. University Village housing was only 80 percent full last fall, so married couples were welcomed to move in for the first time in WSU's history. Couples started moving in and at least one was making good on a presidential scholarship. At that time, plans for Stansbury and La Sal halls had not been finalized. "The thought was 'Let's either renovate them or build something new,'" said Daniel Kilcrease, director of Housing services. "But there's not just money lying around to tear down old residence halls and build new ones, nor the demand. The plan had been to fill University Village and tear down these residence halls, but we went back and looked. If they're still going to be standing, we realize that the married student market is untapped." Thirty-six percent ofWSU's more than 18,000 students are married. About 40 couples have inquired about married housing in the last three months, Kilcrease said. He expects to easily fill the married housing. However, difficulties may present themselves. La Sal and Stansbury have been without major renovations. The buildings were originally closed partially because of retrofitting problems and failure to comply with the portion of the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring elevators. The recent feasibility study, though, found them in compliance with health standards. "They're still buildings that were built in the 70s," Kilcrease said. "But we've got no mold problems and no infestations, no rodents and insects." This fall, if University Village isfilledwith single students, the 11 married couples living there now will be asked to move into the older dorms. They have been informed and are prepared to move if necessary. "With the rate that our numbers are at currently this year, they'll most likely not have to move over there," said Justin Walker, See Married page 3 |
