JANUARY 31, 2007

THE CADRE * 5

CAMPUS

Plenty of volunteer opportunities on campus

Marcel Pellerin Reporter

There are a number of programs here on campus that are supported by vol- unteers. Programs like the International Student Connections (buddy) program, Adult Connections in Education (ACE) and the Women’s Center. UPEI students give their time and themselves to these programs and reap rewards that people who don’t volunteer can’t begin to un- derstand.

Kerri-Anne Corcoran volunteers a lot of her time to programs on campus.

“Because I feel like I should give something back to the health care and education systems that have helped me so much through out my life. It is some- thing I feel good about at the end of the day and I really enjoy working with people they are so appreciative at the end of the day.”

One of those programs, the Buddy program headed up by Heather Jones, is set up to make connections between international students and Canadian students; being there to help in the lan- guage, cultural and everyday differences here at UPEI.

“Tn addition to learning about my buddy’s culture, I was able to look at my own with a different perspective,” said Jones.

Corcoran said her favourite volunteer experience is with the buddy program.

“T know how hard it is to be an ex- change student and being able to spend at least an hour a week with someone who doesn’t know very many people re-

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ally makes a difference to them. It makes me happy to say hi to them when they are walking by.”

ACE is another such program. It is supported by about a hundred volun- teers and is always looking for more. ACE is a multi-faceted program set up as peer support. Supporting areas like fitness, computer, studying and social life to make the university experience more enjoyable for students with intellectual disabilities.

“The whole philosophy of our pro- gram is to be model coherent,” says Natasha Rose, the coordinator of the program.

The Woman’s Center provides support and crisis intervention but also boasts a friendly environment to hang out or vol- unteer in. It’s relaxed with its comfort- able couches and confident volunteers.

It “centers on a diversity of issues,

I think are important for broadening the knowledge in the community” says Melissa MacDonald, a volunteer for the past six years.

Be it crisis or just wanting to sit down and have a cup of coffee, they’te located in room 265, The Loft, at the UPEI student center.

“Tt’s a good outlet for people who want to give more of themselves and have positive responses.” Said Jessica Raven Adams, a volunteer at the center.

There is such a diversity of areas that need volunteers, that there is literally something for everyone.

Contact UPEI student services if you are interested in volunteering on campus at 566-0488.

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UNIVERSITY

I know the disabled spots are tempting, but...

Kent Aitken Reporter

Ever heard that if you don’t pay a $10 parking ticket the university won’t let you graduate?

Regardless, that question raised oth- ers and Al Veale, Assistant Manager of Parking and Building Security, explained how the parking tickets work.

All tickets carry a $10 fine and are is- sued for a number of ways you can park illegally. The most common, according to Veale, are permit violations and void meters.

Once UPEI Security Services Officers find an illegally parked car, they post a ticket and return to the security office with the duplicate to enter in a database. If the vehicle is registered with UPEI (through purchasing a parking permit) their account gets billed immediately. If not, the Provincial Motor Vehicle Data- base is checked. If the driver cannot be identified and billed, then the registered owner is billed.

If a vehicle is billed and the charge not paid, transcripts may be withheld, collec- tion agencies called, vehicles towed and even banned from campus. However, the recovery (payment) rate is high.

Veale says approximately 4,000 tickets ate issued a year, with October/No-

vember and January/February being the peak times. This is primarily due to new academic terms starting and students not being prepared for UPEI parking.

Vehicles are generally not towed un- less they have been ticketed at least three times, but there are situations where they'll tow a vehicle regardless of whether they’ve dealt with it before. This usually happens when vehicles park in disabled spaces, Fire/Emergency Re- sponse access routes or cases of vehicles posing a safety hazard or “[hindering] the safe movement of vehicles and pe- destrians,” Veale said.

Warnings can also be issued, at the discretion of the Officers. Hike those skirts up.

In regards to the original question, the University’s policy is indeed to clear accounts completely before students graduate. However, Veale made the distinction between theory and practice, saying that it wouldn’t happen that a student would be denied graduation fora parking ticket.

Besides, if the idea of not being al- lowed to graduate because of a $10 ticket is ridiculous, the University would have a fairly reasonable counter-argu- ment that a student not paying the $10 fine to graduate is equally ridiculous.