Many Bruins will be leaving their cars in the garage as they buckle on their helmets and ride to campus as a part of Bike to Campus Week. This event, along with Bruin Democrats’ Green Week, is a measures the UCLA community is taking this week to promote the education of environmental issues on campus.
Students, staff and faculty members are encouraged this week to use their bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation, organizers said.
Refreshments are to be provided at designated pit stops from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. today for cyclists who ride their bikes to campus as a part of Bike to Campus Week.
Organized by UCLA Transportation and UCLA Recreation, Bike to Campus Week promotes riding bicycles as a way of life.
Dave Karwaski, the UCLA Transportation representative, said Bike to Campus Week is recognized nationwide as Bike to Work Week.
“(It) stems from a national effort to encourage people to use bikes as another mode of transportation,” he said.
He said the purpose of this week is twofold. “Our goal is to entice those who can to bike and to reward those who already do,” he said. “We are trying to touch both worlds.”
Karwaski explained there are numerous services available to participants including bike prep kits, with patch kits and maps. The UCLA Bike Center, located behind the John Wooden Center, also provides free tune-ups.
“We wanted to provide services that would help people bike to campus,” Karwaski said.
Dorothy Le, cochair of Ecology, Economy, Equity, also known as E3, and the Bicycling Advocacy Committee, said in Los Angeles people are very dependent on cars and that bicycles are a much more convenient mode of transportation than most would think.
“The most important thing (about Bike to Campus Week) is to help people see that bicycling is a viable form of transportation,” she said.
Jeff Dhungana, cochair of E3, emphasized that some participants in this week’s events are experienced riders and others are brand new.
“Pit stops are a place for bikers to congregate and grab some snakes. Some of the people running the booths are avid bikers who can help answer questions,” Dhungana said, adding that people travel from as far as Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach.
“If you think in terms of commuting, people drive an hour to campus on a regular basis and find this to be normal,” he said.
Bruin Democrats have declared this week Green Week, and the club’s members are spending their time on Bruin Walk working to educate students on environmental issues.
The club has highlighted specific topics it will be focusing on, including alternative fuel, steps students can take to help the environment, and global warming. Using a “sexy motif” to get their point across, the club’s posters read “the environment is sexy” and “do it in the dark.”
Bruin Democrats are encouraging students to turn off lights that are not in use, recycle, use paper and cloth grocery bags, and use mugs instead of disposable coffee cups.
At a meeting tonight, Professor Mark Moldwin plans to speak about related environmental topics.
Bruin Democrats is also gathering signatures for a petition to send to the White House. Kyle Kleckner, the president of Bruin Democrats, said the petition urges the president to pay attention to alternative fuels.
The club will bring an end to their week of events with a beach cleanup held on Friday.
“This week we hope students’ voices are heard regarding environmental issues from alternative fuels to global warming,” Kleckner said. “Not only do we want to educate, but also we also want to make the White House take notice of these voices.”