Commuter Council

Meets: First Monday, 12:00 p.m., Room A-136 · Adviser: Trent Bawlke, Admissions Counselor · Organized 1992

The Commuter Council represents the interests of commuting students, which is to say nearly all students. The Council operates the ride board described at Transportation, advises Facilities on parking and snow removal concerns, and maintains the commuter kitchen inventory in Room A-136.

History

Organized in 1992, the year after the College ceased offering student housing.
The ride board’s cards are archived annually. The archive begins in 1994 and is complete.
The Council’s snow removal recommendations have been adopted twice: the Lot 7 routing revision of December 2025, and the barn drive addition of 2011.
The Council has maintained the Transportation Incident and Delay Log since 2009. Members report incidents voluntarily in five categories: collision, moving violation, mechanical failure, weather delay, and animal encounter. Reports are confidential; the annual summary is published in categories only, without names, and is transmitted to Facilities and Campus Safety per the Council’s practice.

Officers, 2026–27

Officer lists are filed with the September recognition renewal; the roster below is as filed with the Office of the Dean of Students.

Rhonda Pelfrey — Chair: Sciurid and Small Mammal Nuisance Control. Commutes from Carroll County. Her parking recommendations are filed with Facilities each November, whether or not requested.
Owen Mastin — Ride Board Clerk: Jobsite Material Security. Archives the ride board cards each December. The archive is complete from 1994, and he has stated an intention to index it.
Twila Boger — Secretary: Cosmetology. Maintains the commuter kitchen inventory in Room A-136. Items unclaimed at the end of a term are offered before being discarded, which the Council notes distinguishes its practice from the Commons refrigerators.
Vernon Slaby — Recorder: Insurance Fraud Investigation. Keeps the Transportation Incident and Delay Log. Reports are taken as given; determination of fault is outside the Council’s purview.

Events

Winter driving clinic — November, with Campus Safety.
Ride board card day — first week of each term.

Transportation Incident and Delay Log — annual summaries

Summaries are published in categories only, without names, and are transmitted to Facilities and Campus Safety per the Council’s practice. Reporting is voluntary; the Council notes that totals understate. Selected entries for each year are published below the summary; select a year to view them.

Year	Collisions	Moving violations	Mechanical failures	Weather delays	Animal encounters	Total
2022–23	3	8	14	7	0	32
2023–24	5	5	12	12	2	36
2024–25	2	7	13	6	1	29
2025–26	4	6	11	9	1	31

Collisions are reported as minor unless stated otherwise. No collision has been stated otherwise.

Weather delays are recorded only where instruction was missed.

The 2023–24 animal encounters were unrelated.

Mechanical failures by system, 2025–26

System	Reports
Charging and starting	4
Tires	3
Cooling	2
Exhaust	1
Door latch	1

The log records conditions rather than occurrences; a continuing condition is entered once.

Selected entries, 2022–23

Entries are reproduced as recorded, without names.

Date	Category	Entry as recorded
Sept. 8	Mechanical failure	Brake line, discovered in Lot 7 before departure. The member did not depart. Recorded as a failure without incident, a distinction the log maintains.
Oct. 20	Moving violation	Failure to stop, township road. The member stated the stop sign was new. The sign’s installation date was obtained from the county and supported the member’s statement. The citation stood.
Nov. 14	Mechanical failure	Reported as an animal encounter; reclassified, the squirrel having been resident in the air intake before the vehicle was in motion. The year’s animal encounter total is unaffected.
Jan. 25	Weather delay	Seven members delayed by the same closure of the state route. Entered as seven delays. A motion to consolidate failed; delays attach to the member, not the road.
Feb. 15	Collision	Lot 3, ice. A vehicle at rest was struck by a sliding vehicle, both unoccupied. Recorded as one collision by agreement of the owners.
Apr. 12	Mechanical failure	Horn, continuous. Resolved by fuse removal at the Shop Building during the common hour. The instructor’s assistance is acknowledged in the entry.

Selected entries, 2023–24

Entries are reproduced as recorded, without names.

Date	Category	Entry as recorded
Sept. 28	Animal encounter	Turkey, County Airport Road. The turkey did not yield. The member reversed to the previous drive and waited.
Oct. 9	Collision	Garage door frame, member’s residence. Recorded following discussion of scope; departure from the residence was held to be within the commute.
Dec. 4	Mechanical failure	Wiper motor, driver’s side, during rain. The passenger operated the wiper manually by reach-through until the village. Entered with commendation.
Feb. 13	Moving violation	Parking citation, village street, snow ordinance. Contested on the ground that the posted hours differ from the ordinance as published. The village agreed and reissued the citation with corrected hours.
Mar. 6	Animal encounter	Deer, township road, 5:20 a.m., en route to field instruction. No contact. The hour is noted in the entry.
June 1	Annual note	The Recorder’s summary for the year observes that January was difficult. The observation was accepted and entered.

Selected entries, 2024–25

Entries are reproduced as recorded, without names.

Date	Category	Entry as recorded
Sept. 19	Mechanical failure	Fuel gauge reading full at all times. Entered once as a continuing condition. The member reports refueling by mileage and has had no interruption.
Oct. 31	Animal encounter	Donkey, loose, Corliss Pike at the barn drive. Returned to Barn Complex B by the member and a passing motorist. The Division confirmed the count the same morning.
Jan. 8	Weather delay	The Annex closed while the main campus remained open. Two members en route to the Annex diverted to the main campus and attended a different class as guests. The attendance was not for credit.
Mar. 14	Moving violation	Speed, measured by aircraft per the posted sign. The member expressed doubt that the aircraft exists. The citation is recorded; the log takes no position on the aircraft.
May 2	Collision	Bollard, Lot 9, during the resealing detour. The bollard was new. Facilities installed reflective tape the following week, and the log so notes.

Selected entries, 2025–26

Entries are reproduced as recorded, without names. The Recorder’s marginal notations are not reproduced.

Date	Category	Entry as recorded
Sept. 12	Collision	Lot 7, backing; both vehicles belong to members. Resolved between the parties. Entered once, at the members’ joint request.
Oct. 3	Moving violation	Speed, state route, 41 in a 35. The member noted the grade. The note is recorded but has no effect.
Oct. 17	Animal encounter	Deer, Corliss Pike, 6:50 a.m. Both parties stopped. The deer left first. No contact.
Nov. 5	Mechanical failure	Alternator, Corliss Pike. The member completed the diagnosis personally and submitted it with the report. The diagnosis was accepted as submitted.
Dec. 11	Mechanical failure	Driver’s door latch. The member entered through the passenger side for the remainder of the term. Entered once, the latch being a continuing condition.
Jan. 15	Weather delay	Level 2 roads, Carroll County; arrived 9:40 for a 9:00 class. The instructor’s attendance note and the log entry agree to the minute.
Jan. 21	Collision	Mailbox, township road. The mailbox was replaced by the member the same week. The property owner provided a receipt for the log.
Feb. 9	Moving violation	Expired registration, identified at the winter driving clinic by the attending Campus Safety officer. Renewed the same day. Recorded at the officer’s suggestion.
Feb. 26	Weather delay	The member’s vehicle was cleared of snow by an unknown party in Lot 3. Recorded as a delay averted. The category total is unaffected.
Mar. 30	Mechanical failure	Muffler, reported by sound by three members before being reported by the operator. Consolidated to one entry.
Apr. 2	Collision	Shopping cart, off campus. Recorded over the Recorder’s objection that the cart was outside the log’s scope; the member held that the cart was in motion.

From the minutes

March 2, 2026

The commuter kitchen’s second microwave was reported repaired. The Council’s letter of thanks to Facilities was read and entered into the minutes.

April 6, 2026

The 2025–26 incident summary was accepted: 31 reports, comprising 4 collisions (all minor), 6 moving violations, 11 mechanical failures, 9 weather delays, and 1 animal encounter. The animal was uninjured. The summary was transmitted to Facilities and Campus Safety.

Recognition of a student organization is granted under the terms stated at Student Organizations and does not constitute College endorsement of the organization’s views or activities. Current officer contacts are maintained in DroverNet.

Responsible office: Office of the Dean of Students, Room A-130, ext. 2140.
Page last revised 7 August 2026 · student-life/organizations/commuter-council · Office of the Dean of Students