THE PENDULUM
Volume 29, Issue 5 Septeniber 18, 2003 www.elon.edu/pendulum
if it matters to you, it matters to The Pendulum.
Tim Rosner / Asst. Photo Editor
Gavin Sands communicates with student drivers using a radio
while woriing for Safe Rides in the EV! office Saturday night.
Giving baclc: Safe Rides
searches for volunteers
Matt Belanger
Asst. News Editor
A lack of volunteers could
force Safe Rides to stop offering
its service to the Elon community.
“If our pool of volunteers does
not improve, [closing] is certainly
a possibility that we need to look
at,” said Karen Floyd, associate
director of residenc life and serv
ice learning. “The program needs
campus support, which we are not
getting from the campus commu
nity.”
Floyd explained that the prob
lem stems from a lack of student
initiative to give back to the free
service. She explained that most
of the people who use Safe Rides
do not offer to volunteer for the
service. However, demand for the
program is strong — last weekend
Safe Rides transported more than
200 students to locations within a
one-mile radius of campus.
“The desire to give back has to
come from within; for us to keep
going it is imperative that those
who use the service give back by
volunteering for it,” Floyd said.
Britten Ginsburg, student coor
dinator for Safe Rides, offered a
hypothetical situation for the stu
dent body to help them consider
the impact they could have.
“If every student at Elon vol
unteered just one night during
their four years here, then we
would have more than enough
people to run our service every
weekend in full capacity,”
Ginsburg said.
Floyd said that Ginsburg,
Jocelyn Maningo and Dan
Hampton have all been crucial to
the continuation of services this
year.
“Our leadership and their com
mitment to the program has been
very positive for the program this
year,” Floyd said. However,
Floyd continued to explain that
already this year. Safe Rides has
been unable to operate on three
occasions because of a lack of
volunteers.
See RIDES p. 10
Elon Fire Station plans construction of substation
Matt Belanger
Asst. News Editor
Just seven minutes after an
emergency response unit was dis
patched to an apartment on
Lebanon Avenue, a train passed
through the Town of Elon cutting
the Elon Fire Station off from over
half of its juri.sdiction. In his 26
years of experience at the station.
Assistant Fire Chief AJ Sizemore
said the train has always been a
concern for the station.
“We have had ca.ses where we
have been cut off form the north
ern part of our district by the
train,” said Sizemore. “All we
could do was turn off the sirens
and wait at the tracks until the
train went through.”
However, plans are in progress
to build a new facility that would
ease some the stressed placed on
the Fire Station by the train. A new
substation is slated to be con
structed on a tract of land north of
campus that was recently donated
to the Town of Elon by the uni-
veristy. The substation will pro
vide relief in a number of areas for
the station, not only easing com
plications posed by the train but
also serving as a solution for the
station’s desperate need for more
space.
Elon Town Manager Mike
Dula said that the construction of
the substation is essential to
account for the future growth of
Elon. The recently completed
Elon bypass, located just north of
Rhodes Stadium, will most likely
be developed in upcoming years.
Dula explained that as the Elon
area expands, the need for more
efficient fire protection is crucial.
The project is a collaborative
effort between the Town of Elon,
the Elon Fire Station and Elon
University. The university has
See SUBSTATION p. 10
Isabel sparks
review of
disaster plan
Lindsay Porter
Managing Editor
With hurricane Isabel making land
fall during the day today, local officials
have beoi basy planning preparatoiy
arrangements for flie stomi’s iinminent
arrival.
Vice President and Dean of Student
Life Smith Jackson saki Tuesday that it
Ls unlikely Isabel’s more serioas effects
will be felt at Eton, more than 200 miles
firni the coast
“We’re watdiing it ctosely, and we
always pr^xue for the wcxNt,” Jackson
said.
University .senror staff md Tuesday
to dLscuss the emeigency plaa which
includes evacuatbn plaas if the need
should arise. Acconding to Jackson, the
university has taken precautions top
ping off generatcr fiiel, backing up
power for fire alarms and stocking a
three-day food supply.
As of Wednesday, Nath Carolina
Governor Michael Easley had ordered a
mandatoiy evacuation for residents of
the stiite’s Outer Banks and declared a
slate of emeigqxy.
Family Weekend events are still
scheduled to continue as planned. Any
changes to the schedule will be posted
on E-net
Lsabel has flactuatcd in its catego
rized severity since weather officials
started monitoring it closely more thm a
wedc ago. The stomi has passed throu^
the stagies of categraies three tfinxigh
five. The stomi was most recetly low
ered to a categray two , with winds
reaching gu-sts of 110 m(^
Students are uiged to monitor
updates on E-net, or access tfie latest
infonruition by calling 278-RAIN.
Contact Lindsay Porter at pen-
dulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
XJ-| • Thomas Friedman will visit campus for this year’s X^O "t • out the details of the Phoenix’s first
^ fall honor’s convocation. MT t^Ji9 football victory against Hofstra.