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.

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.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton on Monday called on community members to turn out for the April St. Louis County election to vote in favor of a sales tax for funding Metro, as Washington University continued efforts to mobilize the community around the measure.

With the April elections just around the corner, the fate of St. Louis Metro is once again at the mercy of another proposal after the failure of last year’s Proposition M. And this time around, the coalition of transit supporters is more determined than ever as it prepares its campaign.

The St. Louis County government said on Monday that a transit sales tax measure similar to Proposition M could appear on the county ballot this April, as a coalition of transit advocates ramps up its campaign efforts.

The 2008-09 academic year at Washington University was one of many administrative, environmental, political and campus life-related changes. Issues and events that arose in the past two semesters will continue to play a role and affect students throughout this year. Several of these changes have been summarized below.

This week, Metro bus service, which had been cut back earlier this year, was restored to parts of St. Louis. About 55 percent of the bus service Metro cut in March was reinstated.

Metro’s service cutbacks may have gone into effect, but that’s not stopping a number of Washington University students and administrators from continuing to advocate funding for the transit agency.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton speaks about Washington University’s efforts to support Proposition M live interview hosted by Student Life and WUTV.

Washington University students waited for up to three hours Tuesday to cast their ballots—many for the first time— and in contrast to past years, encountered few problems along the way. […]