Wheatland Express
Julia Piaskowski
As a long-time bus rider and University of Idaho student, I would like
to express my support for continued funding of the Moscow-Pullman bus.
I am a recent graduate of Washington State University's Crop & Soil
Sciences department and a current graduate student in crop science at
UI. Both programs rely on a joint classes offered at both
institutions, although UI is more dependent. This semester, I travel
there twice weekly for quantitative genetics; next semester, I will
travel to WSU for Plant Pathology (God-willing if the bus is still
around). There are plenty more classes to name. My point is that these
joint programs are an integral part of UI's offerings and without
them, the quality of education for some programs would be
substantially poorer. Without the bus, I would be unlikely to make
those trips and hence unable to take the courses because (1) I have no
car; (2) the WSU parking systems doesn't have reasonable guest parking
policies; and (3) it is too expensive. It is in the best interests of
the University and its students to continue financial support of the
bus.
Sincerely,
Julia Piaskowski
Julia Piaskowski
Graduate Research Assistant
Plant, Soil & Entomological Sciences
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844-2339
sha...@wsu.edu
I would like to point out some facts that I think are relevant to the
discussion regarding Wheatland Express funding. Recent stories in the
media have stated that WSU students fund the WSU portion of the
Wheatland Express. This is not correct. Washington State University,
primarily through student initiatives, provides approximately $1.1
million towards funding Pullman Transit. The $100,000 that WSU pays
for the Wheatland Express program is funded entirely from the WSU
parking system, not from student fees. The purpose for development
and implementation of the inter-campus transit service, now provided
by Wheatland Express, was to support cross-listed classes for faculty
and students in those classes and was to be an equal partnership
between the University of Idaho and Washington State University.
Moscow has leveraged WSU's funds to support Moscow's transit system,
but that is not a goal or a priority for WSU.
John Shaheen
Director of WSU Parking, Transportation & Visitor Center