Fighting to save Caltrain

By Mary Chamaki

As the severely volatile Caltrain fiscal funding crisis continues to unravel, students and faculty are making sure their voices are heard in order to save the Santa Clara station.

"Our experience as Santa Clara Broncos will be directly affected by the implementation of the changes requiring the closure of our local station," said sophomore Caltrain user Erik Bakey. "Not only is it creating a pernicious dislocation for commuting faculty and staff, but it's also diminishing our greatest local means of transportation to and from San Francisco."

Upon notification from Joe Sugg, assistant vice president of university operations, Chris Mosier, president of the Associated Student Government, gathered the organization's members in order to allocate projects focused on raising awareness regarding the impending crisis.

"At this point in the process ASG is trying to raise awareness across the campus. Senators will be holding their office hours in Benson to discuss the issue, and encourage students to sign up for the Facebook group and sign the petition created online. We are also encouraging students to call or e-mail Caltrain directly to express their concerns," said Mosier.

According to Mosier, at last week's senate meeting, student senate members discussed the concerns surrounding the issue, ranging from transportation to and from campus, to Bay to Breakers and the selling point of Santa Clara being connected to the "bay area public transportation network."

In order to raise awareness, Kanishk A. Desai, chairman of the current  university issues committee, created a Facebook group to rally students together to save the train service. Students are advised not only to join the group, but also to go online and sign the petition against the currently proposed changes. To date, the group holds 940 members from the Santa Clara community.

Contact Mary Chamaki at mchamaki@scu.edu.