SJSU Alerts: SJSU Dorms Intruder

Sent to the campus community:


Alert S J S U 12:58 p.m.
Update regarding Joe West Hall intruder. Suspect in custody. Reminder: Please immediately call University Police at 924-2222 to report suspicious persons and activities. Remember to always lock your dorm room door and be aware of your surroundings.

ALERT S J S U 8:19 a.m.
This is a follow up to our emergency communication regarding a male dressed in black trying doors, entering rooms and groping the victim in Joe West Hall. University Police have completed an extensive floor by floor search. The suspect is still at large. However, at this time, you may resume normal activities. Immediately call University Police at 924-2222 if you see suspicious persons or activities and remember to keep your dorm rooms locked.

Alert SJSU 5:04 a.m.
Male suspect in his twenties dressed in black tried doors in Joe West, entered room and groped victim. Suspect last seen on third floor. Please ensure that your doors are locked. University Police on scene.

My Fall at SJSU

Click on photo to enlarge.

At 10:15 a.m. Tuesday August 24, 2010, I was attending the Welcome Convocation on the Tower Lawn at San Jose State. It was a very hot day and the actual convocation was being given on the lawn between the library and Washington Square Hall. I wanted to hear SJSU President Don Kassing speak because I had missed his speech on Monday due to needs at the Help Desk. I was walking on the lawn and suddenly I fell, twisting my foot underneath me.

There was a hole in the lawn that grass had grown up into. I did not see the hole.

It hurt and I thought I had sprained it. Sprained it badly. I attended the speech limping along. But, it hurt; badly! I limped back to the help desk and reported the injury to my supervisor. He called one of our staff who had a cart. They wheeled me over to the health center where they x-rayed me and said I had a Jones Fracture and an Avulsion fracture.

Information about that is here, and here, and here.

They were not able to give me pain medication as the university pharmacy was closed due to our recent layoffs. I was sent to the university's worker's comp provider where I waited for what seemed like forever. Finally we were seen and I was given some medication and referred to see the podiatrist (who comes in Thursday.)

Research on this has indicates this will be awhile. According to one source, "You won't be able to put weight on the leg, and will not be able to move the foot for several weeks, usually 6-8."

This is my new reality!

I got my flu shot!

Did you?

The problem continues

The problem with HPV's at SJSU
I am not against bicyclists, or bicycling, but I am seriously against very dangerous use of them. I am an avid cyclist. I know that cycling, even done carefully, can result in serious injury or death. I am not against anything that involves a risk, but I am against unnecessary risk. I am against what I feel is a grossly dangerous situation. That is why I have been complaining for years about how bicycles and other human powered vehicles are being used at SJSU. In my opinion, so far the university has done nothing to manage what I feel is a real risk on our campus. More on this topic can be found here.

[More photos here]

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New Yoga Place Near SJSU

I have had chronic back problems resulting from a work injury years ago. I love bicycling. Bicycling has helped my fitness but cycling has not helped my back, in fact sometimes spending long hours in the same kind of position seems to aggravate my back.

My doctor recommended Yoga, but that was not easy because there was not a convenient Yoga location near SJSU. I was only able to go once a week, but not every week to a place near our home. That has changed, there's a new kid in town.

Downtown Yoga Shala just opened a couple of weeks ago. Veronica Cruz is the owner. The facilities are great! They have a lot of different kinds of Yoga, including Yoga for athletes. You should check their Web site out!

Where I work I run a help desk serving 40,000 people. It is my job to make customer's problems my problem. It gets stressful. Not only has going to Yoga helped my back it has made a big difference in my stress level. I have joined and have gone four times this week, so far!

Here is more information:

Phone: 1-408-885-1000
Web: http://downtownyogashala.com/
Address: 450 S. 1st St.
San Jose CA 95113

If you are at all interested I urge you to check them out. They are running a great promotion that ends this month!

Bikes hazard to disabled at SJSU?

Here are some of the photos I have made recently of bikes locked to the exterior stairwells of SJSU's Clark Hall. These stairwells are used routinely as exits from the classrooms in Clark Hall and would serve as emergency exits from Clark Hall in the event of an evacuation. In addition to the obvious safety issues, I am concerned about the barriers these are for people with disabilities.

I have tried to get University Police to act on this. My understanding from conversations I have had on this is they are waiting for more bike lockers. In my opinion; to put the needs of bicyclists before providing accessible facilities is a form of discrimination directed at people with disabilities. I think we should be striving to provide accessible physical facilities just as we are striving to provide accessible technology.

When I addressed the issue to the Disability Resource Center at SJSU, Lucille Surdi the ADA Compliance Specialist wrote me back:

The ADA Compliance Office has spoken with Chief Barnes regarding your notification to us of the bikes being locked to the exterior stairwells of Clark Hall. The Chief and UPD are working over the past several months with AS Transportation and FDO to address this situation throughout the campus for the entire campus community. Proposals are being developed for more bike racks and more bike cages. This situation is being overseen with coordination from other university departments and is diligently being addressed. UPD is currently enforcing the issue of unsafe bike parking and has impounded many bikes that create a hazard. You are correct, safety is always the primary concern and please do report any direct safety issues to UPD as soon as possible.

I had a previously scheduled appointment next week to discuss this issue in person with them. In the same e-mail Surdi said:

My office had scheduled a meeting with you and I for next week but I do believe that this matter is being appropriately handled and prioritized and there is no need for a meeting. We thank you for bringing this to our attention and we will be monitoring this situation in the coming weeks.

Sounds like bureaucratic double-speak to avoid doing anything to me. In my opinion providing safe emergency exiting of buildings as well as accessible facilities is more important than having people be able to park bikes all over campus. I am a cyclist myself, I rode my bike to work this morning. It amazes me how many abandoned bikes there are in the bike lockers and chained to poles on campus. Perhaps these can be removed if we really need more on campus bike parking.

UPDATE: March 11, 2009

Yesterday University Police Chief Andre Barnes came over and spoke with me and looked at the problem personally. I really appreciate that! He explained to me some of the issues they have been having with dealing with impounding bicycles and enforcing regulations regarding the parking of bicycles on campus. In my opinion this is not about impounding bicycles or creating new demands on scarce resources.

The cyclists I have spoken to who were parked there. seem to have not been aware they were creating a hazard. Perhaps something as simple (and as cheap) as campus foot patrols or CSOs posting notices on bikes informing bike owners that they are blocking fire exits, as well as creating barriers to people with disabilities, could go a long way to mitigating this situation and improve safety as well as accessibility. Maybe if you just ask folks to park elsewhere, they will. This does not have to be expensive.

[Click Here to See More Photos]

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It is balmy in Clark Hall while others freeze

There is a story in today's Spartan Daily about the cold temperatures in some campus buildings. No problem in Clark Hall where it is in the 70's in my office (CH134.) In fact the warmest room at 76 degrees is our server closet, a room that is supposed to be cool. (I call that room the server sauna.)

What can faculty do about cold temperatures. Well, if they are unable to get the matter fixed by reporting it to Facilities Development and Operations, they can file a grievance with their union! Article 37.1 of the CFA/CSU collective bargaining agreement says:

"The CSU recognizes the importance of procedures for the protection of health and safety of faculty unit employees. The CSU shall endeavor to maintain conditions which are conducive to the health and safety of the employees. The CSU shall endeavor to ensure that faculty unit employees will not be required (a) to work in unsafe conditions or (b) to perform tasks that endanger their health or safety."

Meanwhile, I am in shirt sleeves in Clark Hall.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

School sued by mom of dead cyclist

A recent Mercury News article said, “accusing San Jose Unified School District of falling short on traffic safety, the mother of a sixth-grader struck and killed by a motorist has filed a claim against the district, saying it shares the blame in the death of the youngster who was riding her bike home on the last day of school.”

I have more on this and other information on my blog related to this issue:

http://sjsuhpv.wordpress.com/

San Jose State University has been warned time and time and time again. There are 40,000 people at SJSU who share our paths and sidewalks with skateboarders and cyclists. One wrong step, one slip, one mistake and a tragedy could happen here.

A blog about HPVs at SJSU

[My new blog about HPVs]

A new dedicated blog

I have been trying to minimize this topic on this blog and stay focused on technology. However, I am concerned. In my opinion human powered vehicles pose a safety risk to their operators and pedestrians at SJSU:

• As an employee I am concerned about the risk to students and employees.
• As a parent of young adults I am concerned that many of the operators of these devices are prone to take risks.
• As a parent of an SJSU student I am concerned that this is a dangerous situation that the university, in my opinion, is ignoring.
• As a taxpayer I am concerned that the university is taking on a financial risk by assuming liability in the event of a lawsuit arising from this flawed practice.
• As a bicyclist myself I am all too aware of the hazards of improper use of human powered vehicles.

Because university employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement I filed a grievance under our union contract. I documented my concerns and the grievance here, on this blog. But, I have received a lot of support from folks who are not covered by our union contract. So, I have decided to shift the attention here, to this blog, that will be focused on this issue exclusively.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Car vs. Bike; Bike Lost

Cycling safety at SJSU

I have been a long standing advocate for the safe use non-motorized vehicles on and around SJSU. I have taken this position not because I am an old man standing on my porch yelling at kids running across my lawn. I have taken this position because I have seen far too many people hurt and am aware of the risks involved to both cyclists and pedestrians in an accident. We need to remember that most of the folks we see riding bicycles on our campus also ride them on the streets around our campus. This accident was a block north of SJSU.

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Gus Lease on safety, skateboards and bicycles

This is an Email from Gus

Just in case you don't know who Gus is, let me tell you. Gus Lease is one of the nicest people you might ever meet and on top of that; he is a university treasure. Gus has been on the faculty at SJSU for 56 years. He sings the national anthem at graduation. Gus was once the chairman of the Music department and he currently teaches Music History in the History department.

He has dedicated his life to SJSU. He has lived much of the history of this university. He remembers and tells stories about our university that are a pleasure to listen to. When he first told me about the skateboarder who almost hit him he said, "if he had hit me going as fast as he was, I think he would have killed me."

Gus parks in the campus disabled parking spaces on the north part of seventh street. Gus wrote:

About two weeks ago when I was parked on 7th street, I got out of my car and was going to the back of the car to get my teaching equipment out of the trunk when a skateboard rider coming down the street almost hit me. Since I have a disability and use a cane to walk, had I been hit, I could have suffered a serious injury. Also, today one of the student bicycle riders along the sidewalk between Clark and the administration building was going extremely fast and had to swerve to avoid hitting me.

I do hope you will relate my concerns to the committee that Skateboarding, and bicycling on Campus is a serious Safety issue for all who are walking on campus.

Gus C Lease
Department of History
May 7, 2008

In a recent Email on the same topic, University Police Chief Andre Barnes said, "I am not in agreement with you that it is a significant safety hazard or a position that I can argue comfortable in favor of changing the current policy."

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Email to University Police Chief Barnes

My Email to Chief Barnes

I know during our recent phone call you said you and your officers had not seen or reported much dangerous activity or unsafe practices on the part of operators of non-motorized vehicles including skateboards, bicycles and razors (at SJSU.) At 4:35 pm on May 5 I saw these youths doing acrobatics on the railings of the east side of Clark Hall. I called the UPD dispatcher and the call was logged on my cell phone at 4:35pm. Since it was time for me to go off work, I went back into the building, got ready to go home, took my camera and went out of the building. I had expected to see an officer there since it is maybe 750 feet from there to UPD. Since I saw no officer I started taking pictures. I kept taking pictures. I shot about 25 photos until I finished my roll of film. (Yes, I still shoot film.)

I then walked over to the bike corral and got my bicycle and rode home (circumnavigating SJSU of course.) I never saw any officers and I guess it is no wonder they never saw any dangerous activity or unsafe practices on the part of operators of non-motorized vehicles that day.

[Click here to see more related photographs]

[Copy of Grievance Here]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

It is about health and safety

It is about safety and health and not alternative transportation
In my opinion the recent change, by university president Don Kassing, to adopt a policy that allows the use of skateboards, razors and bicycles in the campus interior has the goal to encourage alternative transportation. This is good, in principle. But, I think this administration has been a bit too quick to decide and has let health and safety take a back seat to lofty goals and "good" principles. The end does not justify the means.

On the morning of Feb. 20, 2008 I was outside of Clark Hall taking pictures in the rain. A skateboarder scooted by and then he slipped and fell in front of me. His skateboard shot across the concrete and hit a pedestrian in the ankle. It was a glancing blow. The pedestrian was not injured. The fact nobody was hurt, this time, is not the point. It could have been more serious. What if the skateboard had hit a pedestrian more squarely? What if the pedestrian had been elderly or disabled. What if the pedestrianhad tripped and been injured? That, in my opinion is what this is about. This is about the assumption of unneeded risk by the university and exposing the campus population to danger for the sake of lofty goals and "good" principles.

For employees, the university is a work place. Employees are entitled by law (and contract) to a safe work environment. Students are entitled to a safe campus. Folks with disabilities are entitled to have a university that is not made inaccessible by dangers, obstacles and trip hazards. Tax payers are entitled to have state agencies not take unnecessary risks and exposure to lawsuit for the sake of pursuing lofty goals and "good" principles.

[Click here to see more related photographs]

[Copy of Grievance Here]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

On Encouraging Alternative Transportation

Editorial: On Encouraging Alternative Transportation
We do need to find alternatives to fossil fueled based transportation, but we cannot sacrifice safety in the process. A friend of mine just had a close call today with a bicyclist riding his bike inside of Clark Hall. My friend said, "that was scary."

If the university wants to encourage alternative transportation there are things that can be done, inexpensively like providing shower facilities to faculty and staff who ride their bikes to work.

In the short run, turning the campus into a free-for-all for bicyclists, skateboard riders and people using razors may seem like a cheap way to encourage alternative transportation, but that is not the case. Just wait until the first crash, until the first person gets hurt real bad and or killed and then sues the university. The university cannot plead ignorance. They have been warned. The staff employees union has filed a health and safety grievance and has provided the university with plenty of evidence about the hazardous conditions here. The entire campus is a job site for the people who work here and the university, under labor law, has a legal and a contractual obligation to provide a safe work place.

It is time for the university to stop taking the cheap way out and to get serious about encouraging alternative transportation. No solution that endangers the employees of the university (as well as other campus community members) is acceptable. No union can sit still when the safety of the members it represents is at risk.

[Click here to see more related photographs]

[Copy of Grievance Here]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Were Bike Policies at SJSU result of fatalities?

Were previous bike and skateboard bans result of fatalities?
I have just been told that the original motivation for the previous bicycle policies (PD 89-03 and PD 90-01) and the Chancellor's Office's Coded Memorandum BA 88-06 (which was cited in those policies, but not the new one) was two fatalities on CSU campuses that occurred as the result of bicycle vs. pedestrian collisions in the late 80's. This needs to be investigated to be confirmed or refuted. I have copies of the previous presidential directives regarding the use of bicycles, skateboards and other human powered vehicles. The Chancellor's Office's Coded Memorandum BA 88-06 is mentioned in both of them, but not in president Don Kassing's new policy, Presidential Directive, PD 2007-06.

Questions

1. Why was mention of Chancellor's Office's Coded Memorandum BA 88-06 omitted in the new presidential directive?
2. What is Chancellor's Office's Coded Memorandum BA 88-06?
3. Are the reports of fatalities true?
   
4. Was Chancellor's Office's Coded Memorandum BA 88-06 fulfilled, expired, superseded or annulled?
   

Safety First!
The overriding concern of the union is that the university is a workplace and the university has the responsibility inherent of all employers to provide safe working conditions. The legal and contractual responsibility of the university to provide safe working conditions overrides all other concerns in this matter.

References:

• Presidential Directive PD 2007-06
• Presidential Directive PD 90-01
• Presidential Directive PD 89-03
• Vehicle Code Section 21113 Regarding Usage of Vehicle (including non-motorized) on Public Grounds
  

[Click here to see more related photographs]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Bicycle grievance pending at SJSU

Grievance proposes bicycle & skateboard ban on campus
A health and safety grievance is now awaiting a decision that asserts that the current policy (as well as its lack of enforcement) regarding the use of non-motorized vehicles (including bicycles & skateboards) in the internal areas of campus poses a threat to the safety of union represented university employees. The union is seeking the ban of the use of non-motorized vehicles in the internal areas of campus and proper enforcement of such a ban.

What is a grievance?
A grievance is an allegation by the union, or a union represented employee, that the university has failed to abide by it's contractual obligations. The California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) is the union representing most staff employees at SJSU. The grievance process has a series of escalations including binding arbitration.

[Click here to see more related photographs]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Unsafe Cycling at SJSU

Safer Cycling?
According to the Center for Neuro Skills, "The implementation of effective bicycle helmet programs could have a substantial impact on rates for fatal and nonfatal bicycle-related head injury. For example, from 1984 through 1988, if a presumed helmet-use rate of 10% had been increased to 100% (i.e., universal helmet use), an average of 500 fatal and 151,400 nonfatal bicycle-related head injuries could have been prevented each year."

SJSU has a bicycle policy allowing the use of bicycles on campus without helmets. The few provisions to provide to improve the safety of both cyclists and pedestrians need better enforcement. I am talking more about this issue on another of my blogs.

[Click Here to See More Photos]

SJSU Earthquake Update

Earthquake Update
According to reports from folks who were there the Academic Success Center in Clark Hall really rocked and rolled last night. According one employee, "the lights swayed a lot and it was very loud. It was pretty frightening."

The quake happened after I left. Reportedly they evacuated immediately and the center remained closed for the night. We opened this morning on time, I was there before 7:30am and I saw no damage except for a few books that had fallen off my desk (totally understandable if you have seen my desk!)

A lot more books fell in the combined city and university King Library. They were closed for most of the morning and that caused us to be swamped in Clark Hall (the old SJSU Library.) Their university library clients who normally go their to use their computer labs ended up coming to us to use the computers in the Academic Success Center in Clark. Of course, we were lucky, it could have been way worse!

So, what can you do about it?
Sign Up For CERT training, be prepared!
Disaster Preparedness Training from Spencer Wong, of University Police. He sent this BE (Before Earthquake):

This is a message for those who have already signed up for the class and people who are still debating on whether to attend.

Once again, the training is on Nov. 2nd, 9th, and 16th from 8:30-4:00p.m on the first two days and 9:00-2:00 on the last day totaling approximately 20 hours of training. The schedule breakdown is as follows:

• Nov. 2nd
  • Introduction to CERT
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Team Building
  • CERT Organization
  • Scene Size Up
  • Terrorism
  • Fire Suppression
• Nov. 9th
  • Disaster Psychology
  • Disaster Medical Operations I & II
  • Lifts and Carries
  • Evacu Trac
• Nov. 16th
  • Search and Rescue
  • Search Maze
  • Final Exercise

If you are making up a section because of an incomplete, please show up to the training on the designated date. Dress code: whatever you are comfortable wearing.

Meeting Place: UPD 214. Please meet in the lobby! There will be signage to direct you. If you have not signed up yet, we welcome walk-ins, but I much prefer to have a list of approximately how many people so I can prepare the copies/handouts.

There is still time brother!
Find out how to prepare for the big one, Email Spencer Wong and get trained! Oh, by the way, Happy Halloween.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, earthquake, ssloansjca

Bikes on SJSU Campus?

Bikes Belong: On The Road!
Harry Lichtbach is a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) with the League of American Bicyclists. On top of this he is Vice Chancellor of the Almaden Cycle Touring Club (ACTC) Academy. Lichtbach is an expert in bike safety and has trained thousands of cyclists how to ride safely. He is a current member of, and former president of, the Academic Senate at Evergreen Valley College (EVC). This is what he recently wrote to me on the subject of bicycle riding on campus:

Steve,
I ride my bike to EVC (sometimes), using a road around the edge of campus to get to my office. I am opposed to cycling through the core of the EVC campus.

When I was a student at UCSB, I road a bike and objected to not being allowed to ride through the campus. (UCSB actually allowed this, in bike lanes, at low speeds, with stop signs where the lanes crossed walking paths. I was objecting to the speed and stop signs. Hey, I was "younger" then.) In researching police accident records for a Public Speaking course assignment, trying to gather evidence for my position, I learned of the many bike/pedestrian collisions and changed my mind. Bikes are vehicles and belong with other vehicles, not pedestrians! This is what we teach in the ACTC Academy. Stay off sidewalks, off walkways, out of crosswalks, unless you are walking your bike!

Feel free to use this where you think appropriate, along with my LCI #.

Harry Lichtbach LCI #1047
Almaden Cycle Touring Club
San Jose, CA. USA

[More SJSU bike related pictures on Flickr]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

SJSU not safe for bicycling

There is no denying cycling is dangerous
I have known many of friends who have been hurt very bad while cycling, some have even been killed. I had several bones broken and still have pain daily from an accident three years ago when a car pulled out in front of me while I was riding to work. Yes, cycling is dangerous, so is driving a car. My first wife was killed in a car accident on a lonely country road. Cycling, like driving, requires attention to safety and situational awareness. Bicycles, like cars, are vehicles.

Cars are a real danger to cyclists just as irresponsible cyclists pose a danger to themselves and especially pedestrians. In my opinion most cyclists on the SJSU campus do not take what they are doing seriously, they do not ride safely or responsibly and they are not being encouraged to do so. I think most cyclists on our campus pose a threat to themselves and campus pedestrians and that is why I am solidly against formally allowing them to ride bicycles in the campus core. That is why I have written many times against allowing them to and why I have made this photo archive of campus cycling related photos.

I may sound anti-cycling but I am not. I am a cyclist. I bicycle ride several thousand miles a year. I think the advantages of safe cycling are greater than the dangers. I think cycling promotes good health and fitness. I think bicycles can help solve some of our serious energy and environmental issues. I am a cyclist and I think bicycles belong at SJSU. I just think bicycles do not need to be ridden in the campus interior at SJSU. There is no reason for them to be. Cyclists at SJSU do not need to be able to ride their bikes right up to and inside the buildings they work in. We need to stop what is going on here. I think we also need to promote awareness of bicycle safety at our campus.

[More SJSU bike related pictures on Flickr]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca