Reading through the proposed parking plan, I couldn’t help but think that it seemed like a bad deal. The proposed plan will take all the various lots that are currently open to commuters and make them into reserved lots that will not be oversold. This will allow people to always know where to park and reduce the traffic through the core of campus that is associated with people “hunting” for spots. This will also help SDSU move closer to its goal of being a walking campus. So now I’ll know where to park and not have to be as careful when crossing campus roads. Hmm.

Let’s look at the money. For those of you who want to park remote, your costs will go from $25 to $72. Nine-month commuter students, your costs will go from $72 to $108 and you will always have a spot, though probably not a good one. For those who would like a good parking spot, your cost will go from $72 to $144. So is anybody not looking at a rather sizeable increase? Well, only if you are a paid employee of SDSU. Then you don’t have to fret about using your salary to get a $240 reserved parking spot. You can just buy early and pay $144 for a reserved lot. So from a money standpoint, those who pay to be here will have to spend a lot more while those who are paid to be here will spend less.

Flexibility-wise, things don’t look much better. I and many other students have classes all over campus. Twice a week I have a 9 a.m. class in Wenona and a 10 a.m. class at the PAC. SDSU would need to become a running campus for me to make it on time if I was confined to one lot. In addition, I have classes in Intramural, Crothers, and NFA along with working in the Union and Harding Hall. I kind of like some flexibility in parking, even if it means I don’t always get a convenient spot. The new system’s only guarantee is that I won’t have a convenient spot.

A walking-friendly campus. That sounds nice doesn’t it? Except for the 3-5 months of the school year when there’s snow and ice everywhere. Campus certainly wasn’t walking-friendly last week when there were multiple broken bones and ambulances. The nice weather months you may remember will likely bring even more bicycles as people are left unable to even have the possibility of parking near their class location. These bicycles will also have more walkers to dodge. A walking-friendly campus also sounds more environmentally friendly. But less efficient parking could ultimately mean more asphalt, which isn’t so environmentally friendly.

In summary, look for your parking prices to go up anywhere from 50-150% percent (apparently they’re trying to show BOR how it’s done). You will have less flexibility, and you will either be watching out for more bicycles or trying to dodge more pedestrians while on your bike. You will get to enjoy more of the beautiful winter weather. If this doesn’t sound good to you, you could consider voicing your opinion, but administration has already decided that, “There will be a public relations problem at first?.It will take a while for people to adjust.” So there you go. They plan on bracing themselves to your insignificant whining until you realize the futility of it.

Personally, I’m nicely adjusted to the way it is now. But if they must change, could they at least look at other options such as only making a few of the core lots reserved? Opening the road through campus that currently dead-ends could help a lot also. Possibly they could make lots open game on weekends and after, say, 3 p.m.

One final question: given the rise of proposed parking costs, where is that money going to go? I can only hope it will be spent on keeping the sidewalks clean and walkable in the winter.

For further information, check out the Facebook group ‘SDSU students against new parking’.

Getting through your senior year in any major at SDSU requires you to pass certain trials, and a major in visual arts is no exception.

Every senior is required to take part in a senior show, in which they display a “portfolio of work that demonstrates their best capacity as a student,” said Norman Gambill, head of the Department of Visual Arts. This portfolio is what students deem to be their best work done while at SDSU. Molly Althoff, from Amboy, Minn., describes it as “a climax for everything we have done at school.”

The Visual Arts Department offers three majors, and students collaborate with others in their major when putting the show together. The current display at the Ritz Gallery has work from graphic design seniors Althoff, Marcus Bergren and Joshua Johnson. It includes posters, linocuts, business projects, material from graphic design classes and intaglio prints.

Bergren said that “putting the show up was a lot more fun than I expected,” and it gave him the feeling of being “a curator for a museum.” It took most of the weekend for the three seniors to set up and arrange the display.

“It was a good learning experience, getting to see how an art show is put together,” said Johnson, a Canton, S.D., native.

According to Johnson, the show also offers a chance for friends and family to see exactly what the students have been up to and to see how each artist differs in style.

“I like a dirty feel to my work, a lot of experimental stuff. I also like to put humor to my work. If you can’t enjoy it, why do it?”

For Bergren, his work is about “trying to find the clearest and most interesting way to communicate an idea.”

“I like to use color and put texture into my work,” Althoff said. “It’s nice when work shows human hands created it; not everything has to be perfect.”

There will be a public reception held at the Ritz Gallery located in Grove Hall on Friday, Dec. 12 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The artists will be present to discuss their projects, and refreshments will be available.

#1.882117:937948700.jpg:Rtiz_Art_Studio_Trey.jpg:”Trey,” a linocut by Marcus Bergren, is based on a photo of one old bandmate playing guitar. Linocuts are done by cutting the image into linoleum blocks and a different block is used for each color. :
#1.882116:85147351.jpg:Ritz_Art_Studio_The_Duke.jpg:An intaglio print of John Wayne is just one in a series titled “Battle of the Dukes,” a story board presentation by Joshua Johnson. Intaglio prints are created by etching a drawing into a copper plate and using the plate to print the image.:
#1.882115:2064507920.jpg:Ritz_Art_Studio_Battle2.jpg:Duke Ellington and John Wayne battle it out in Joshua Johnson’s “Battle of the Dukes.” The print is one in a series and is currently on display at the Ritz Gallery.:

An inviting buffet banquet, cultural songs and dances and an around-the- world fashion show were all part of International Night 2008. The event was held Nov. 9 in the Volstorff Ballroom and was hosted by the International Relations Club.

The few hours of presentation were the result of much planning and prep work. According to IRC club president David Karki, the food was prepared the previous day, the dancers had been practicing for two to three weeks and overall program planning started approximately two months earlier.

The wide array of cuisine gave attendees a taste of China, India, Nepal, Africa, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, France and Native America.

The banquet received great reviews.

“Everything that I tried was good,” said senior political science major Doug Martin. “I liked it all, and I do think I tried it all.”

The performance portion of the program included dancing from Norway, Nepal, India and Pakistan, singing from China and Haiti, video shows from Africa and the Philippines and a fashion show featuring 10 different countries.

“I was fascinated with the different clothing,” said Nepalese graduate student Minakshi Pokharel, who represented the Terai region of Nepal in the fashion show.

“Overall I think it went very excellent,” said Karki. “We had good diversity in terms of events.”

“The language barrier didn’t matter,” said Kalpana Prajapati, a computer science graduate student from Nepal. The music and dance allowed for everyone to experience other cultures and traditions without having to understand the language.

“Each and everything was perfect in its own way,” Prajapati said.

For instance, the traditional Chinese song “Jasmine Flower” was sung by Qian Sha in her native tongue, but the lighting and background music both made it very nice, she said. The dancing had the crowd quite animated.

“It was very rocking; everybody was cheering,” Prajapati said.

“The dancers and all the performers were having fun, and it showed. I can’t wait until the next International Night.” Bloomington, Minn., native Martin said.

#1.882199:3140378500.jpg:International_Night_Peruvian_Woman_ES.jpg:Ruth Guillermo of Peru shows her native clothing during the Fashion Show portion of International Night 2008.:Ethan Swanson
#1.882198:2785282375.jpg:International_night_Nepal_couple_ES.jpg:Barun Ranjitkar (left) and Manisha Shrestha (right) of Nepal dance the Taal ko paani (Water in the pond).:Ethan Swanson
#1.882197:2872482942.jpg:International_Night_ES.jpg:Jyoti Joshi of Nepal dances the Bhamara phool ko rasaima (Bee taking nectar from the flower).:Ethan Swanson