Ben Smidt

A new UW System policy passed during the summer declared that no one under 25-years old is permitted to drive a 15-passenger fleet van.

The policy created ripples in some departments, especially geology, where classes depend on the hands-on experience gained through field trips. The fleet vans are the preferred mode of transportation for these field trips.

“Our department on average drives over 60,000 miles per year using these vans for field trips,” said Robert Hooper, chair of the geology department, who is on assignment in Scotland.

Hooper heard about the policy while in Wyoming from an e-mail from the fleet vehicles manager, Ed Brown. Other staff members heard about the policy from an e-mail memo from the system administration in the summer.

Kent Syverson, the acting chair of the geology department in Hooper’s absence, said only two students in the geology major are 25 years old.

“We have approximately 17 local field trips scheduled for which we have no drivers,” Syverson said. “My opinion is that this policy was created out of irrational fear by individuals at UW System that have tunnel vision,” Hooper said.

Hooper said the policy was designed to cut down on the risk of accidents with the vans, but he doesn’t agree with the rationale that the administrators used.

“Is it dangerous? Of course, there are dangers anytime you leave the confines of campus, just like whenever you leave your home,” Hooper said. “The trick is to limit the dangers.”

Limiting the age of the drivers is not the solution that Hooper agrees with. Hooper suggests the administrators push for training and experience for the drivers, and not a “one-size-fits-all solution.”

“It’s a bad decision made by individuals who did not seek advice from the end-users and that has resulted in bad policy,” Hooper said.

United Council, the student organization for the UW-System, has sought alternatives to the policy.

In a memo sent to the UW System administration, the United Council said, “United Council of UW Students and students across the state appreciate the safety concerns in the aforementioned memo . (but) UW students strongly urge UW System to lift the interim policy until an appropriate and accommodating alternative is reached.”

Student Senate President Sarah Schuh said there should’ve been an interim policy established until a permanent solution could be found to increase safety and keep the costs of the policy down.

“They are unsafe,” Schuh said, but many organizations and programs need to use them for transporting students, and not being able to use them could create some problems involving increased competition. The geology department is trying to manage the situation by asking for all eligible drivers to volunteer to drive.