Editorial A plea for vigilance crash should highten off-campus awareness

Author: [no author name found]

Though Saturday evening's accident and its repercussions are still being processed, the incident should serve as a wake-up call to the College community - it is extremely fortunate that only minor injuries were sustained. Several points should be considered in relation to the incident.

To begin with, there were many social options on campus last Saturday evening, implying that even when given alternatives, a significant number of students will choose to attend events held off campus. A commons-sponsored party in Pearsons Lounge, a Riddim dance show with an after-party in McCullough Social Space and a semi-formal at Alpha Omega as well as a cappella, choral and orchestra concerts were not enough to keep the entire student body in walking distance of its residence halls.

Though many off-campus events are organized annually, such events seem to be much more prevalent this year, and the ways in which students are being transported on and off campus have become cause for concern. Hitchhiking, walking long distances, mobbing moving vehicles and seeking rides with drivers known to have been drinking are shockingly irresponsible choices even when the threat of spending a night off campus looms.

In fact, such actions should not even be options. If a bus company that can safely transport the number of people expected to attend a party cannot be found, the party should not be held. Students who pay money to attend events held off campus should be guaranteed sufficient transportation to and from such events.

The Student Government Association appears to be on its way to addressing the formerly taboo van issue by proposing that the student activities fee be used to pay for return transportation from off-campus parties. The organization should be commended for taking up the issue, but the danger of allowing off-campus parties to rely entirely on such an initiative should not be overlooked. Creating a situation with large numbers of students driving off campus is not entirely safe even when they are guaranteed a ride home, especially as the weather becomes less predictable and road conditions worsen.

While the College and students who organize off-campus parties should maximize every effort to ensure safety, students should understand that what they do off campus is ultimately their own responsibility. Students that are not responsible or patient enough to procure a safe ride home should confine their social lives to on campus.

It can only be hoped that last weekend's incident will continue to remind students of the dangers involved in attending off-campus parties. Such a close call should prompt cautious and responsible student social behavior over the holidays and throughout J-Term and spring.