It seems one of the largest issues plaguing this campus is the issue of safety.

Students cannot jog down the street or cross in the crosswalk without facing the risk of getting tagged by a truck around here.  However, despite the attempts made through ticketing, the dangers of crossing or just walking to the side of Rivers Street and Stadium Drive still remain.

A first student was whacked crossing in a crosswalk (so much for doing the safe thing).  A second student, just last week, got bumped jogging down the side of Stadium Drive (AKA the ASU Dragstrip).  Both are OK, although probably not that enthusiastic whenever a car passes by.

The first situation occurred earlier this semester and, in response, the university started ticketing speeders and jaywalkers. 

The ticketing of speeders has fluctuated up and down throughout the semester due, in my opinion, to quotas.  The ticketing of jaywalkers was intense the first week, but has steadily declined. 

Either students swiftly figured out where campus police staked out or the police were tired of getting chewed out.  I deviated from those white lines right in front of two traffic officers last week, and they did not even bother to stop me.

While the attempts to curb these behaviors are honorable, or at least a way to generate cash, they do not seem to be helping improve our safety.  I appreciate the effort, however, only a minority of students are being caught, leaving the majority of students able to speed, jaywalk freely and whack each other with cars.

My point?  Ticketing is not doing the job and it never will. I am not saying to give up on it, however, ticketing alone will not stop these behaviors.  Usually when ticketing occurs, it happens in spurts. Like a community crimewatch, word spreads throughout the student body that the police are laying down the law. 

As a result, students temporarily observe the law to avoid being fined and later start disregarding it again.

So, what is the solution? How can we prevent jaywalking and speeding on our campus? 

I think the solution is simple, install more crosswalks, speed bumps and tunnels on our campus.

If the number of crosswalks were increased, almost all jaywalking would be prevented on the streets. 

The reason jaywalking is such a problem is because the are so few crosswalks. Students are not going to zig to a distant crosswalk then zag to the building where their class is.  They are going to travel the shortest distance possible. 

So, if more crosswalks available, students would not have to run as far to a crosswalk and jaywalking would be reduced. 

However, realizing the population’s need for speed, even law-abiding citizens still run the risk of becoming road pizza.  

So, it would also be logical, even if it was a minor hassle to drivers, to install speed bumps.  If ticketing only catches a small percentage of drivers, then speed bumps would slow down one hundred percent of drivers.  

I am not talking about those weak mall speed bumps that only stop lowriders, I am talking “speedhumps” like the ones at Wake Forest. 

Perhaps the speed bumps, like the one outside the campus post office, which doubles as a speed bump and a crosswalk, would work.   Not only does it prevent speeding and jaywalking, it is a sweet piece of engineering.

Adding a few more tunnels would also help, although I realize that would take longer to be constructed than the first two options.  

It would give another place for students to safely cross the street.  If you gave the students a choice between crosswalks and tunnels, they would usually take the tunnels.  No crazy drivers to deal with down there.

Not only that, more tunnels would mean more advertising for fraternities and clubs.  Students would be made aware of more events on campus, as well as, have another place they can freely vandalize.

I realize all these ideas would cost money, but I think the university could afford it.

They had the money, $10,000, to make the Jeff Dunham free for students (see Nov. 5th edition of The Appalachian). If I am not mistaken, part of the money made from past ticketings went to the construction of the Convocation Center. 

Whether or not the university plans to put these ideas, or ones like them, into motion remains unknown.  Hopefully, some results will come about eventually and the risks of crossing the streets of out campus will be greatly reduced and student aggravation will reduced as well.

So, until then, when possible, cross at the crosswalks.  Take the tunnels when the opportunity presents itself.  And when there are no cars coming in either direction and no visible crosswalks, run like the wind across the street.