Campus briefs
VTA fares climb
Students traveling on Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) will find their wallets slightly lighter as fare increases start today.
VTA was forced to reduce service and increase fares as a result of eliminated funding and declining tax revenue.
As of June, VTA reported a budget gap of $36 million, according to a press release distributed in late July.
The fare increases, planned for January 2010, were implemented for October to partially address the decline in revenue.
The plan is estimated to generate $1 million in revenue.
A single ride ticket will be increased to $2.00 from $1.75.
For a full list of the new fares visit www.vta.org.
Annual Mass of the Holy Spirit Wednesday
The Mass of the Holy Spirit will be held Oct. 7 in the Mission Church.
The Mass starts at noon.
Classes scheduled between 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. will be canceled. Classes schedule to start at 1 p.m. will begin at 1:15 p.m.
Following the Mass, a campus picnic lunch will be held on St. Ignatius Lawn.
Students received an e-mail last week inviting them to the ceremonies.
Hackworth Fellow blogs on technological ethics
Senior Courtney Meehan, a Hackworth Fellow from the ethics, has started a blog site called "The Technological Citizen: Ethical Reflections on Modern Technology."
Meehan and other Hackworth Fellows provide ethic programming for students at Santa Clara.
The blog she founded is geared towards promoting reflection and dialogue about ethical issues in modern technology. Her goal is to provide a forum to reflect on ethical issues on technology.
All discussion topics fall under five categories including technology and society, technology and the environment, neuroethics, ethical issues in health and biotechnology and the future of technology.
"It seems that technologies are often developed and disseminated into society at a rate that exceeds our ability or our willingness to engage in reflective conversations about them," she said on her blog. " I think a key aspect of technological citizenship is to thus step back and thoughtfully examine the ethical uses and implications of the technologies we employ."
Past topics on the blog have included employers using online networking sites in hiring decisions and the internet's effect on reading.
Discussions about the blog have already been used in Biology 171, Social and Ethical Issues in Biotechnology, and Critical Thinking and Writing I: Science, Ethics, and Society.
Each post includes a comment section to prompt dialogue.
The online blog can be found at http://thetechnologicalcitizen.com.
From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.