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UAS shuttle service: a necessity, not a convienence
Anonymous Whalesong Contributor
We are now approaching
the winter months. Every morning the air is colder, and the darkness
lasts longer. Many of you may have noticed that the shuttle service
that begins every year around this time has not begun yet. Some
of you new to UAS may have not known that a shuttle service was
ever offered. Well, there was, and it was nice. You could stand
outside designated areas, and within 15 minutes, a van would arrive
on a continuous route to the SAC, Anderson Building, and campus.
So many of us appreciated this “convenience” as the faculty
may call it, and yet there will be no shuttle this year.
What the faculty is not aware of is that the shuttle
was not a convenience, it was a necessity. A 15- minute walk to
campus does not bother most. A 25-minute walk to the Anderson Building
would not be so bad either; that is, if the lives of those without
transportation were not at stake every time they wanted to attend
class. The walk down the road from the housing path to where DeHart’s
is does not contain a sidewalk. It is not safe to be walking along
there during the day, but at night, the darkness and fog make it
nearly impossible for cars to notice pedestrians on the side of
the road.
So, you make it to the sidewalk at the bottom of the
hill. Well, it just so happens that the walkway isn’t on the
same side of the street that Anderson building is. How convenient.
Throw in a blind turn with speeding cars, what else could you ask
for? How about some snow? When there is snow and ice on the road
you cannot hear the cars coming anymore. You are forced to run across
the street (without falling) and launch yourself over the snow bank,
hopefully to safety. Not so fast, say there is a car, whether you
are in the middle of the street or not, it is difficult for cars
to stop quickly in the snow.
So, what are our options? Here’s one-how about
not attending class? We all know that this is not the solution.
Many of us are wondering why the shuttle service is not going to
start this year. You may have noticed the van parked in the housing
lot, save the few occasion when the housing employee indulges themselves
with a ride down to campus. So, what’s the problem? Is $7.75
an hour too much for the school to spare for a driver?
I don’t know what is left for us to do. The petitions
have circulated, and yet there is still no response. What if someone
gets hurt? Hopefully it doesn’t take this for the school to
realize that this very important “convenience” would have
been worth $7.75 an hour if it saved that one person’s life.
I did not write this article to complain (at least that wasn’t
the only reason). I would just like the administration to know that
these are the views of many of us students who do not have our own
transportation. Our opinions will not be changed unless someone
will respond to the reason for the shuttle service being canceled.
A response would be greatly appreciated.
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