University Bridge

[Source: Dane Fernandez]

Another place at Palo Verde is the University Bridge that connects Palo Verde with the rest of the Arizona State University campus. The bridge goes across University Drive and is a significant route for transportation for students and faculty to and from Palo Verde. The University Bridge was apparently designed by a chiropractor and is supposed to help strengthen your back muscles and possibly even cure back aches. Students who live at Palo Verde will benefit greatly from this because students probably go over that bridge at least two to three times a day. On the other hand the University Bridge can be at times fairly rough because it is a pretty tall bridge and some physical effort is required to go over it.  In Lynn Mellenthien’s thesis titled Fatigue in College Freshman, she states, “College freshman, those students that are 18 and 19 years old and living away from home for the first time, can be at risk for fatigue” (Mellenthiem, 2).  Therefore, going over this bridge everyday can increase the fatigue that college freshman experience in their first year of college.  Furthermore, students with physical disabilities will find it very inconvenient to cross University Drive because they will not be able to go over the bridge. Also, students who use a wheelchair as there source of transportation will automatically be disqualified from crossing the bridge because you have to walk up and down stairs. Furthermore, it would have been far more convenient to just have a crosswalk in place of where the bridge is because at least students with physical disabilities will be able to conveniently cross the street. Overall, the University Bridge is a great disadvantage on students who live at Palo Verde, and is harmful towards the Palo Verde community.