Students in a jam
A conga-line of red brake lights causes chaos across the University of Wollongong (UoW) campus during the early weeks of session as students, staff and visitors compete for limited parking spots.
Student complaints have centred on the carparks being full during peak periods,10am to 1.30pm Monday to Thursday, at the start of the academic year.
“I remember representatives from the uni coming to high schools in the Sutherland Shire encouraging students to consider Wollongong, even offering three UAI bonus points,” first-year student Zoe Hudson said.
“Why does it target students from The Shire when it does not effectively cater for their travelling requirements?”
The Keiraville Transport Working Group, which includes representatives from Wollongong City Council, the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) and UoW student associations, acknowledged in 2005 that parking at the University was a controversial issue, yet the problem remains.
The 2008 UoW Parking Statement read: “Due to limited parking and the cost of travel, we encourage students to strongly consider alternate methods of travelling to uni. These include travelling by train, bus, or bicycle.”
Public transport, however, has not alleviated student disappointment and delay.
“They send letters to students at the start of session encouraging us to take public transport instead of driving, but the system is an absolute write-off – a bungled train line versus over crowded car parks,” fourth-year graduate Erin Sadler said.
“I can either drive for 45 minutes and then queue for 30 minutes for parking on campus, which doesn’t exist, or travel on a train for two hours and wait for a bus for 20 minutes.
“Both alternatives have proven to be time consuming and expensive, neither of which a student has in abundance.”
Parking on campus via a purchased entry permit is also very limited. Sold at the beginning of each year to about 4,000 of UoW’s 20,000 students, those who miss out are forced to pay daily to park in the multi-storey car park or on nearby streets, which angers residents.
Former Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) President Jess Moore said students would end up paying more.
She has calculated that using the cheaper western car park three days a week at $3 a day would cost $117 each 13-week semester.
Last year’s parking permits cost between $60 and $100 a semester.
“This system is still privileging people who have the money. We have a huge parking problem at uni,” Ms Moore said.
However, WUSA is committed to finding an environmentally friendly alternative to the ongoing parking problem.
The Association’s web site said: “This parking issue will not simply be solved by the introduction of more car parking places, as this solution will only ultimately lead to an increase in traffic congestion and the requirement of an enormous investment towards upgrading existing local roads.”
“We must press on for a solution that is people and environment friendly.”
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week Three: Writing a Story (remember to KISS)
‘There’s nothing to writing,’ US sports reporter Red Smith says, ‘All you have to do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein’ (Fedler, 1993, ix).
Clarity is one of the core criteria of news writing. When you are pitching your story at a 12-year-old, it is very clear that it is not academic writing. It must be direct, concise and economical. This means you have to write short: short sentences, short paragraphs, short stories. Newspaper readers are pressed for time. You have to give them the news quickly, concisely and without a lot of extra words or information they don’t need. Your tone needs to be detached and objective. Use simple language. Think hard about every word you use. Is it necessary? Is there a more clear, concise way to say this?
(Did you find my short sentences just delicious?)
For example:
No: Biological sciences professor Karl Johnson passed away Tuesday at the age of 55, following a long, courageous battle with cancer. Yes: Biology professor Karl Johnson died of cancer Tuesday. He was 55.
Below are a list of questions that Shawn believed would help focus our stories:
- What is the story really about?
- What’s the news?
- What’s the story?
- What’s the image?
- How can I tell the story in 6 words?
- So what?
Here are some things I learnt from ‘Students in a jam’ – my university based story addressing the critical shortage of car parks at the start of session:
- When writing figures remember anything under ten is written as a word, and any figure over ten is a number. For example: “I can either drive for 45 minutes and then queue for 30 minutes for parking on campus, which doesn’t exist, or travel on a train for two hours and wait for a bus for 20 minutes.”
- Tight writing is good writing
