The Justice

Media Credit: Rebecca Ney Students can rent one of 12 bicycles under the 'DeisBikes program.

The 'DeisBikes program, which will provide 12 bicycles for rent as a viable means of transportation as well as to help create a culture of sustainability on campus, was officially launched yesterday.

The program cost roughly $1,500 in setup costs, tools and bicycles and was entirely organized by students, according to Susan Paykin '11, a member of the student task force responsible for implementing the 'DeisBikes program.

The 'DeisBikes program will be based out of the Shapiro Campus Center, and rentals will be free of charge to undergraduate students. Students will be able to rent a bicycle for a maximum of 24 hours, and those interested in renting a bicycle will be able to sign up at the Info Desk in the campus center. After signing up, a student will be given a bike, a helmet and a lock.

'DeisBikes originated through collaboration between students in Prof. Laura Goldin's (AMST) "Greening the Ivory Tower" fall semester class and members of the Student Union. During the class, five students discussed the possibility of creating a bike rental program at Brandeis.

The students, Paykin, Lea Giddins '11, Caroline Cappello '11, Lisa Frank '09 and Kevin Lowenberg '11, formed a task force to work with the Student Union to craft and implement the 'DeisBikes program.

"The idea of creating a program to make bikes readily available to students on campus had been talked about many times in prior classes, but this year the students really decided to tackle this head-on," Goldin wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. "The students did great research and planned well, and through hard work and collaboration with the [Student Union] they were able to turn their idea into a reality."

Some Student Union senators had also discussed creating a bicycle rental program. Student Union senators Chenchao Lu '09 and Paul Balik '10 helped the task force purchase the bikes and get them serviced and repaired at the Waltham bike shop Spoke 'n' Wheel.

The Senate has passed two Senate Money Resolutions to fund the 'DeisBikes program, and under a bylaw change passed March 1, the Union Senate Services Committee will continue to oversee the maintenance of the program.

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