We at The Eagle like to think of ourselves as fairly intelligent people, but we have to admit the new SG initiative has us more than a little confused. Under a proposal by SG President Joe Vidulich, student volunteers will drive AUTO vans from a location near The Eagle's Nest to CVS and Whole Foods in Tenleytown. The van service will start next semester and plans to run every 10 minutes during the day.
Yes, these are basically the same route and times the AU shuttle runs. With stops that are only a quick walk away from each other, it appears that the SG's plan is an exercise in redundancy. But unlike the shuttle, the AUTO vans have a policy agenda.
Vidulich and his administration have decided to tackle that bastion of college treachery - the overpriced convenience store. Saying The Eagle's Nest has prices that are almost 50 percent higher than stores in Tenleytown, Vidulich hopes the van service will force the Nest to lower price tags. Once the store has adjusted its prices, the program will stop.
CVS and Whole Foods are poor alternatives to the over-priced, limited selection at The Eagle's Nest. AU students need a way to get to places like Safeway or Giant where they can get groceries and not worry about lugging heavy bags home. Instead of wasting gas money and students' time on a repetitive program, the SG should be adding new student transportation options and repairing the AUTO vans we have.
Food on campus will always cost more. It's time for the SG to come to terms with this reality, stop creating programs that funnel time and energy into unnecessary endeavors and start working on issues the campus really cares about.
