PERSPECTIVES

BY EDUARDO OTERO

It is truly unfortunate that the Cleveland State University Office of Campus Support Services and the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority have opted not to extend the popular U-Pass program to bus-riding students for the summer 2009 semester.

Despite turning out in record numbers this spring to vote overwhelmingly in favor of reinstating the pass for all semesters, CSU students are forced to wait until fall for the all-access permits to return.

Case Western Reserve Uni-versity, on the other hand, is providing its full-time students with access to summer U-Passes for $75 – undoubtedly a heftier fee than the $25 students are accustomed to paying for spring and fall terms, but still a more than reasonable charge considering current RTA bus fares.

Those seeking relief at the gas pumps and the eco-friendly will likely find little appeasement in the daily $4 round-trip bus rides that have come to define summer semesters at CSU.

The absence of a summer-long U-Pass should be regarded as creating cavities in the wallets and serious dents in the budgets of CSU summer students.