ASMCP on the Move

“Bus Stop Woes” Courtesy of RU Meme: the Memes of Rutgers University.

In the ASMCP Spring 14 meetings we have been working on compiling research on the issues of transportation here at Rutgers, with more attention on the Rutgers busing system. In relation to the transportation theme project I have primarily focused on finding writings about the busing system and other writings that relate to issues involving the busing system and overall transportation on campus. Most gathered writings have come from The Daily Targum, but other research was taken from an University address by former Rutgers President Richard McCormick. Information was also found, or a lack of attention or information was discovered, in the 2014 University Strategic Plan. The PDF, downloaded by the embedded link, has little written about the current status of transportation on campus, see page 40 of the Plan itself or the 42nd scanned page. Using the Address by McCormick and the University Strategic Plan I hoped to offer some periodization of the transportation concerns from the most recent past University president to the current president. The Daily Targum articles offered thoughts and concerns that have been voiced and can be used to further advance the Rutgers transportation themed project in ASMCP, while simultaneously highlighting the articles’ concerns themselves.

Thinking about the direction of our project for the future more research concerning stated thoughts or opinion by President Barchi; finding if the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) has any opinions or given attention to transportation and the busing system on campus; as well as the transportation’s impact on faculty and staff members of the University from arriving on campus and navigating internally at a campus and among other campuses can be helpful in form and giving depth to the project.

Concerning my own vein and performed researching I have not found any thoughts by President Barchi concerning issues of transportation. Rather than assuming the President has avoided or offered no comments about transportation at the University it necessary to review Addresses and recorded or transcribed meeting to see if he has made or acknowledged concerns involving the buses and transportation. An area worth examining is the Strategic Planing meeting that have pasted in conjugation with the University Strategic Plan.

Second, RUSA is a student body government of the University that concerns themselves with issues at the University. I have not looked into the organization, but it is likely that they  have had some thoughts about transportation and the buses on campus as a student populated organization. If any information is found that was voiced by the RUSA it would be interesting to note when such a thought was voiced, was it acknowledged from a University administration, and if the concern was remedied.

Third, nothing from the faculty and staff’s view point was yet discovered. The buses and issues of parking are a dominating and overt experiences here at Rutgers. Informal remarks are occasionally made in class meetings by faculty, but it would be rewarding for the project to find a more formal comments about the current status of transportation and its impact on University employees. The buses are not exclusive to the students, so concerns and accounts of transportation should include other parties that are effected. Thinking of starting points to perform research might include reviewing Addresses where faculty have posed questions in the question and answer sessions. Other areas include newsletters and opinions written and circulated on campus.

Collectively ASMCP has unearthed great sources of information and research, but more work and research is still  needed. Together we needed to find where holes and gaps are present in our current own research and in the project as a whole. Next we can work together to fill those gaps and support the logical concludes we find ourselves moving towards. Moving towards connecting our research with our compiled storyboard it might be useful to capture live and actual footage of topics raised in our research that are relevant with our storyboard to help ground our project in a physical sensibility rather than detached sense of highlighting concerns with offered solutions that would not actualizing more impressing methods of consciousness raising.