Imagine the Indy 500 with less horsepower.

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.

SPONSORSHIP:

Similar to the NASCAR cars, the golf carts will be covered with ads. Apple will place ads all over the golf cart promoting their education discount at the Bookstore. Pepsi ads will encourage thirsty viewers to visit the vending machines on campus. These ads will come in the form of stickers and peel off easily since the college doesn’t like advertising on campus. The sponsorship alone will be the biggest generator of revenue. Imagine seeing a local Rio Adobe ad passing your section 500 times. You’re most likely going to think about it and become hungry. You’ll eventually end up getting your burrito fix after the event.

PUBLICITY:

Just like San Jose’s Grand Prix, the Golf Cart 500 will have major impact. De Anza will be known for its community education, monthly flea market, former student Teri Hatcher and the Golf Cart 500. Not only will La Voz cover the event, but the San Jose Mercury and the Cupertino Courier will pick up on it as well. NBC 3 will do a report on the six o’clock news. In the past five years, the major coverage De Anza has received has been negative: the Al DeGuzman planned bombing, the Colin Powell protest, and the infamous alleged murder by Alex Hochstraser. It’s time that De Anza is recognized for its singular contributions to the community. This race will be good PR for a college that is in dire need of it.

THE RACE:

Please refer to the map on the left. Unlike San Jose’s Grand Prix, it won’t be necessary to make modifications to the course. The course will have a lot of turns, straight-aways and bumpy roads. The race will begin and end in the Stelling Parking structure.

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES:

As the race becomes successful, it will turn into a trend at other campuses. Foothill, West Valley and Gavilan Colleges will copy the idea. San Jose State and Santa Clara University will pick up on it as well. Both of these campuses are huge and home to numerous golf carts. De Anza may revolutionize this event and become a pioneer. Who wouldn’t want that recognition?

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS:

First of all, insurance is a concern. The De Anza administration is concerned for the safety and health of its students, faculty and staff. Imagine one of these golf carts losing control and heading towards a crowd.

My solution? Add barriers, tire walls and buy insurance. The second problem is with the advertising sponsoring this event. If only the administration will lift its advertising ban for this. If De Anza wants to succeed, it needs to start generating revenue and not depend on government assistance. I’m not the only one who thinks this. Two highly respected (by me) business instructors think the same way. I chose not to publish their names because I can. If you like this idea, please write to your student senator, school administration or even me and let’s get this plan going.

If you oppose this idea, write a letter to the editor. Our editor in chief is upset that we don’t receive many letters anymore.

Let’s get this race underway as soon as possible. I have a meeting with Kellogg’s this afternoon. They’re possibly going to sponsor my golf cart. I’ve already turned down offers from Starbucks, Staples and 3M.