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The Daily OrangeRush Hour | Campus Commuter Challenge encourages university employees to travel to work in creative, environmentally friendly ways with prizes
By Tessa Kurman
Posted: 9/25/07, 9:51 PM EST Section: News
Patti Ford's 12-year-old daughter encouraged her to ride their family horse to work. She suggested the horse could spend the day on the Quad. The students would love it.
But Ford settled for a different way to participate in Syracuse University's Campus Commuter Challenge. Instead of riding a horse, she will run 15 miles to campus.
"I want to show that it can be done," said Ford, an administrative assistant in the physics department. "If I can run 15 miles, people who live three or four miles away can do it, too. If I lived five miles away, I'd run every day."
The Campus Commuter Challenge, which kicked off Monday, encourages people to leave their cars at home and come to school in another way, said Rachel May, director of the Office of Environment and Society.
"The more people you can encourage not to drive, the better," May said.
The month-long competition among academic departments encourages faculty and staff to try getting to work in a way other than their own car, May said. The winning department is determined by the highest percentage of employees that participated.
Jeannette Steffes, associate vice president of Student Affairs, said it took very little work on her part to get the members of her department excited for the challenge.
"People were energized based on the conversation," Steffes said.
Steffes is confident that people will at least look into participating in the challenge.
"The Campus Commuter Challenge is an entree for people to talk about sustainability and how they can be part of the future and the solution," Steffes said. "It's about how they can alter their daily routine to help make a difference world wide, or community wide in Syracuse."
The challenge asks faculty and staff to try a sustainable mode of transportation at least once between Sept. 24 and Oct. 24, May said. Oct. 24 is National Campus Sustainability Day.
"We would love for them to do it every day, but that's a lot for people," May said. "If you ask them to do it once, they see it's not that hard, and that it's fun."
But Ford settled for a different way to participate in Syracuse University's Campus Commuter Challenge. Instead of riding a horse, she will run 15 miles to campus.
"I want to show that it can be done," said Ford, an administrative assistant in the physics department. "If I can run 15 miles, people who live three or four miles away can do it, too. If I lived five miles away, I'd run every day."
The Campus Commuter Challenge, which kicked off Monday, encourages people to leave their cars at home and come to school in another way, said Rachel May, director of the Office of Environment and Society.
"The more people you can encourage not to drive, the better," May said.
The month-long competition among academic departments encourages faculty and staff to try getting to work in a way other than their own car, May said. The winning department is determined by the highest percentage of employees that participated.
Jeannette Steffes, associate vice president of Student Affairs, said it took very little work on her part to get the members of her department excited for the challenge.
"People were energized based on the conversation," Steffes said.
Steffes is confident that people will at least look into participating in the challenge.
"The Campus Commuter Challenge is an entree for people to talk about sustainability and how they can be part of the future and the solution," Steffes said. "It's about how they can alter their daily routine to help make a difference world wide, or community wide in Syracuse."
The challenge asks faculty and staff to try a sustainable mode of transportation at least once between Sept. 24 and Oct. 24, May said. Oct. 24 is National Campus Sustainability Day.
"We would love for them to do it every day, but that's a lot for people," May said. "If you ask them to do it once, they see it's not that hard, and that it's fun."
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