Mandatory USU emissions testing lacked student input, causes concern

BY CASEY SAXTON

Many students were caught by surprise over the last couple of weeks when they found out their vehicles must pass a mandated emissions test before they can purchase a parking permit, including me. I had no idea the university had adopted the policy to comply with Cache County’s recently adopted emissions testing requirement. I was even more surprised given my knowledge of a poll conducted by USU/SA last summer that emphatically showed students didn’t support the university getting involved in the issue.

The policy caused me concern for several reasons. The fact that this will largely only affect those who aren’t residents of Utah or are from a Utah county that doesn’t require testing and, to my knowledge, students weren’t really involved or aware of this change were a couple of my biggest concerns.

I contacted James Nye, director of the Parking and Transportation Department, via email last week with a few of the concerns I had. He responded within the hour and invited me to his office to talk about some of my concerns. I went to his office later that day, and he was very welcoming.

I asked my questions and he gave me answers, which was something I really appreciated. Evidently the policy was adopted by the Executive Committee of the university during the summer, and he was asked to ensure it was implemented before school started this year, which he did.

He pointed me to a section of the Utah Code (41-6a-1642) about emissions testing. The code gives counties the authority to require universities to have staff and students who park on campus to get emissions testing done, regardless of where the vehicle is registered. To my knowledge, Cache County hasn’t required USU to do this, but USU went ahead and adopted the policy anyway to be prepared if it ever does become mandated in the future.

Once I’d read the code, things made a bit more sense to me. I’m not sure, had it been me making the decision, if I would have adopted the policy before the county required it because county officials might not ever go that far. I’ll do some more checking with some county officials to see what their thoughts are about this.

According to Nye, the number of students affected by the policy is minimal because most USU students already are from a county that requires vehicles pass an emissions test. He estimated around 250 students will be asked to get an emissions test before they can purchase a permit. He noted Motor Pool is offering emissions testing at a cost of $15 and that many students had already utilized the resource.

At the end of the day, I understand the issue much better after asking some questions. I’m disappointed students weren’t more involved and in-the-know about the issue, and I would encourage those who make policy for the university to utilize students as a resource in the future to give feedback before implementing such a drastic change.

With that said, it’s fantastic we have administrators at USU like Nye who are willing to meet with students and answer questions. I look forward to working with others this school year in addressing other student concerns and I hope they are all as welcoming and up front as Nye.

— Casey Saxton, a senior majoring in business administration and marketing, serves as the student advocate vice president for the USU Student Association. He can be reached in TSC 340, by email at studentadvocate@usu.edu or on Twitter at @AggieAdvocate.