Stanford Report, August 9, 2006

Cardinal Chronicle

BY MICHAEL PEÑA

Starting this week, parking permits for the 2006-07 academic year can be bought online. The price of an annual "A" sticker increased from $510 to $552 and for a "C" sticker from $204 to $216. The bumps in price from the 2004-05 academic year to the one now ending for "A" and "C" permits—when divided by 12 months—were $2 and $3.50, respectively. This time around, the monthly increases are $3.50 for an "A" and $1 for a "C." Faculty, staff and students who live off campus, don't buy a permit and join Parking and Transportation Services' Commute Club are eligible for Clean Air Cash in the amount equal to the price of this year's "C" sticker. Applications for permits and Commute Club membership, which must be renewed annually, are available at http://transportation.stanford.edu. Or you may submit an application in person, and risk the long lines, at the P&TS office at Bonair Siding starting Monday.

The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian magazine, will issue its first-ever college guide for LGBT students later this month. The guide will list 100 of the best campuses in the country for LGBT students, and Stanford has been notified that it will be named one of the top 20—although, overall, the rankings are not competitive. Inclusion in the guide was based on the submission of a comprehensive dossier of information that universities had to compile which required testimonials from undergraduate and graduate students and asked an extensive set of questions about LGBT life on campus. Universities also were required to detail student services, policies and programs, such as a system at Stanford that matches incoming freshmen with roommates who are supportive, according to BEN DAVIDSON, assistant dean and director of the LGBT Community Resources Center, who led the preparation of Stanford's submission.

If regulars of the Avery Aquatic Center are feeling high and dry because they haven't been able to swim this week and last, it's only because the facility is hosting the "world's largest competitive aquatic meet," organizers of the event said in their press release. The 2006 XI FINA World Masters Championships began Friday and runs through Aug. 17. FINA stands for Federation Internationale de Natation, the international governing body for aquatic sports, and this year's meet includes about 8,000 world-class adult athletes from more than 60 countries.