Dear Bucknell Administration,
When students asked you why the school does not provide a late night shuttle from downtown functions to on campus housing, you told us that you did not want to encourage heavy drinking. While I value your intention to keep Bucknell students out of danger, your logic is inherently flawed. This irrational logic can only be comparable to that of abstinence-only sex education. Saying that offering late night transportation encourages heavy drinking is like saying that offering access to contraception encourages sex. Advocates of abstinence only education claim that if they do not offer students the tools to have safe sex, then students will not have sex at all. You know that this approach does not work. However, you still believe that if you do not offer safe transportation, then students will not participate in downtown social functions. As a Bucknell student, I know that this approach will not decrease participation. Just as abstinence-only education withholds the rights of students to gain access to safe sex, you are withholding the rights of students to live on a safe and secure campus. Our current transportation system, or lack thereof, is problematic for numerous reasons.
First, there is a serious risk of exposure. Last winter, my friends and I were walking home from a downtown function. Even though it was dark, I could see the outline of a body lying under a tree. When I got closer, I saw that this outline was in fact the body of a girl, who wasn’t wearing a coat. The only thing between her and the icy ground was a skirt and top. My friends and I got her up and asked her where she lived. When she told us that she lived in Swartz, we were shocked, because we found her near the downhill dorms, alone. After we walked her home, all we could talk about was how thankful we were that we found her. If we hadn’t, I don’t know what would have happened to her. When I heard about the location of the new senior housing, I had an immediate flashback to that night last winter. What is going to happen when a dorm full of 21-year-old seniors walk from the bar to the new senior housing in the middle of winter? Ignoring the fact that a large segment of 21-year-old students will be walking home drunk is not only ignorant, but also negligent.
Second, a lack of transportation leaves students vulnerable to sexual assault. Students are taught to use the buddy system if they choose to go out. You go out with your friends and you leave with your friends. This simple system is effective when everything goes according to plan. However, students will frequently go out in a large group, which makes it difficult to constantly monitor each person. Often, one friend will get separated from the group, forced to make a decision between walking home alone and walking home with a stranger. Both of these choices put the student in a compromised situation. While walking home alone is said to make students vulnerable to sexual assault, I would argue that walking home with a stranger leaves students equally vulnerable. Shouldn’t the student have the right to a better option? Having a shuttle would be that option.
Are you going to wait for a tragedy to happen before we get a safe transportation system at night? Are you going to wait for a student to get hypothermia? Are you going to wait for another sexual assault? What is it going to take for you to take action? Our students have the right to a safe and secure campus and late night transportation is an integral part of that.
I write this from the perspective of a rising senior. I write this from the perspective of a human against sexual assault. Most importantly, I write this from the perspective of a Bucknell student who cares about the wellbeing and safety of other Bucknell students. As I have previously stated, I believe that students have the right to live on a safe and secure campus. Why then, would you not give us the tools to do so?
Sincerely,
A concerned Bucknell student