Vincent--
In 1991, students at Brown decided they wanted to make transportation less
of an obstacle to public service work. They approached the University and
after much negotiation, received an approximately $40,000 loan to purchase
3 Taurus station wagons. The loan was paid back over a 4 year period with
grants from the Universiy Finance Board, a student body that disturbutes
student fees to student groups and programs. Students who go through a
registration process are able to reserve the cars and use them for service
work. We try to encourage carpooling to make the cars more accessible, and
now that the cars are getting older, we have worked very hard to encourage
more use of Providence's bus system. We feel this is beneficial not only
by reducing wear on the cars, but also by encouraging students to interact
with the community in a different way that they might if they could always
use a car.
This system is full of both benefits (the obivous ease of taking 6 people
to a site without paying 6 busfares or the advantage of being able to get
across town and back between classes without having to wait for
inconsistent buses) and challenges (break downs and other inconveniences
that take the cars temporarily out of circulation or the sense of
entitlement that can grow when the cars are always there to use).
Hopefully, this explanation will spark some ideas for you.
Peace,
Scott Hummel
>SL Folks:
>
>Greetings.
>
>Beginning next fall, our administration has decided to restrict our first
>year students having a car on campus. This poses a greater concern for our
>students and faculty who are involved in off-campus based Service-Learning
>activities at the first year level.
>
>I would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT, if you could share with me any workable
>models and ideas you might have in terms of how you work out the
>transportation problems.
>
>Thanks much!
>
>Vincent Peters
>
>Vincent Peters
>Professor of Social Work &
>Director, Service Learning At Bethel (SLAB)
>Bethel College
>3900 Bethel Drive
>Arden Hills, MN 55112
>Phone: (651) 638-6124
>Fax: (651) 638-6001
>Internet: v-peters@bethel.edu
>
>"I slept and dreamt that life was pleasure;
> I woke and saw that life was service;
> I served and discovered that service was pleasure."
>
> - Rabindranath Tagore
>
>"The greatest tragedy is not to live and die, as we all must.
> The greatest tragedy is for a person to live and die
> without knowing the satisfaction of giving life to others."
>
> - Cesar E. Chavez
>
>"As long as space remains,
> As long as living beings remain,
> I will remain
> In order to Serve."
> - Dalai Lama
_______________________________
Scott Hummel, Assistant Director
Swearer Center For Public Service
Box 1974, 25 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
(ph) 401.863.3545
(fx) 401.863.3094
(www) http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/