2008 Woodie Awards
De Anza College presents: Golf Cart 500
Reza Kazempour
Issue date: 3/20/06 Section: Culture
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Let me be the first to suggest De Anza College host the Golf Cart 500.
This is the ultimate answer to De Anza's budget problems. In essence, De Anza will use resources currently available, and put them to greater use.
The idea hit me last Monday morning when I was delivering the paper. It wasn't like a "Field of Dreams" moment when a voice told me, "Build it and they will come." Instead it was my business savvy mixed with a passion for driving.
De Anza is an enormous campus with beautiful landscaping and lots of angled walkways. It could become the Mecca of all golf cart races. The annual event will draw in the community to witness an exciting day of racing, similar to the thousands who pilgrimage to the campus for the monthly Flea Market. Racing always draws a crowd.
De Anza has numerous golf carts that employees use to accomplish their duties. For example, I use our golf cart to deliver the newspaper every Monday morning and to refill the racks during the week. Duc Nguyen has a golf cart to deliver the mail to departments on campus. The custodians, ground services and ETS use one to carry supplies and deliver equipment.
You have here two forms of resources: capital and labor. The Golf Cart 500 will be using both resources to provide entertainment to the fans. Imagine Jim Holstein of ETS and Maria Salazares of Custodial crossing the finish line at 12 mph while De Anza President Brian Murphy waves the checkered flag.
This event will involve many segments of the community. Imagine a golf cart stopping at the pit stop and a crew of four Auto Tech students jumping out and changing the tires, cleaning the windshield and giving a pep talk to the driver. Because of electrical requirements, the Auto Tech students would need to modify the carts, so they could go 500 laps.
Health Services and the Massage Therapy students will be on hand alongside the EMT in case there are any accidents or injuries. While De Anza is a beautiful campus, it has a lot of bumps, potholes and other disturbances in the road, which may take a toll on a driver's back. Student clubs will sell drinks, while Auto Tech monopolizes the food concession with hamburgers. Instructors Jack Lynch and David Stringer will recruit their business students to publicize and manage the event, while the math students compute the race times and statistics. Technical writing students will create manuals explaining how the golf carts function. The involvement is endless.