By ALISA THOMAS

Staff Writer

To have the right of way, or not to have the right of way, that is the question that pedestrians and drivers often have different opinions about.

On campus, students without cars have expressed reasons of how and why pedestrians should have the right of way.

"Pedestrians have the right of way, regardless of what the speed limit may be; drivers should yield," Donte' Reynard, a freshman architecture major, said. "Drivers may think they have the right of way only because they are driving."

Students should have the right of way on crosswalks because the students walk the majority of places they go on campus, Nneka Anyanwa, a freshman computer information systems major, said.

"People with cars should be respectful of pedestrians," she said.

Some students say this is a college campus so it is expected for drivers to stop for pedestrians.

"I don't stop in a crosswalk because it is automatic that pedestrians have the right of way," Randy Lewis, a junior computer information systems major, said.

Off campus, students with cars agree with the idea that pedestrians undoubtedly have the right of way in a crosswalk.

"I believe as a driver that if you are paying to go to a college, you should have the right to make it to class on time, especially since the traffic is very bad around a college campus," Jared Gafford, a junior aviation major, said.

Other student drivers feel that the crosswalk is made to protect pedestrians, and no one should take that for granted.

"That's what the crosswalks are for so why not use them," Mia Pearson, a senior sociology major, said.

Jeremy Cogdell, a sophomore computer information systems major said, "I believe that in seeing pedestrians in crosswalks around campus, they are just walking to make it to class on time, which is something I can understand."

The laws in Louisiana concerning the right of way in a crosswalk state, "Drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, use cautions, drive more slowly and watch both sides of the street."

This information can be found in chapter three of the Louisiana driver's manual or online at http: //www.dps.state.la.us/.

LaKeisha Jones, a sophomore computer information systems major, said she was a witness to an incident in which a pedestrian's right of way was not respected.

"Last Wednesday night, I was sitting outside of Mitchell Hall and a car hit this guy who was riding his bike across the crosswalk," Jones said. "Instead of stopping, the vehicle drove around him and sped off without asking him if he was okay."

Jones said she also questions, "So what is going to happen next? Are people going to be able to hit and run and get away with it around campus?"