Washington University sits on a corner of Clayton, and students wishing to visit its heart need only travel west along Forsyth Blvd. to reach it. Downtown Clayton is a business district, and most of its establishments cater to that crowd.

The tiara-wearing Miz MetroLink became a familiar face on Washington University’s campus last year. Urging people to support the sales tax measure Proposition A to fund more transit service, the crowned figure was actually Liz Kramer, a University administrator.

Metro will gradually phase in expanded transit service following St. Louis County voters’ approval on Tuesday of a sales tax increase for Metro, top Metro officials said late last week. Chief Operating Officer Ray Friem said service will be restored in phases over the next 12 months. The first changes will come June 28 after a series of public hearings in the coming weeks.

Students and St. Louis County residents went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their say on a sales tax increase for Metro, as campus leaders continued their mobilization effort to get students to turnout. With the future of public transit and sales taxes in the region on the line, students and administrators leading pro-Proposition A efforts worked feverishly to turn out as many students as possible before polls close at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, cash-starved local opposition called and e-mailed supporters and tried to gain as much media exposure as possible.

In the fight over the future of public transit in St. Louis, one local man has been an inspiration to local Tea Party activists and a thorn in the side of transit advocates and Washington University students and staff.

Supporters of a proposed sales-tax hike for Metro are making their final case to students and local residents to get them to turn out to vote “yes” in Tuesday’s St. Louis County election, as a smaller organized opposition continues to work to defeat the measure. Sensing that they face an uphill battle, Washington University students and administrators have joined forces with local transit advocates.

To the Washington University Community: I write to you on the eve of a very important day for Washington University and the St. Louis region, and I write to ask for your support. On Tuesday, April 6, registered voters in St. Louis County will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition A, a half-cent sales tax increase to support the operation and expansion of the Metro system.

There have been a lot of concerns and misinformation going around about Prop A and the campaign to save Metro. The truth is that there are a lot of very good reasons to vote yes on Tuesday. For instance, the Metro trains are much more sustainable than cars or even buses.

You hear it over and over. Prop A will hurt the poor. And like many other ridiculous statements, when it’s said often enough, it begins to sound true. The term “regressive tax” has been bandied about a lot lately. Yes, a sales tax is “regressive.” But wait, read on! That’s not the whole story, as the erroneously named Citizens for Better Transit (CBT) would have you believe. There are two more things you need to know.

For members of the Washington University community, the only responsible choice on the Metro tax increase is to vote “no.” The tax will be on the April 6 ballot in St. Louis County as Proposition A. It would be the third sales tax increase for Metro and would be a 100 percent increase in revenue from county taxpayers—from about $80 million to about $160 million a year. It would also be the third sales tax increase in St.