A Drunken Dilemma
Weekends in Kutztown always prove to be eventful and unpredictable. The only thing that stays constant is the shockingly cold nights we all bear with while walking from place to place. Whether you’re exploring the town or having a drink at Shorty’s Bar, thoughts of getting home rest in the back of your mind.
The good news is, Thursday through Saturday nights, the shuttle buses run until 3 a.m. The problem is, the bus comes every 50 minutes. This leaves students with the decision of walking in the cold, waiting for the bus, or even possibly accepting a ride from someone who is intoxicated. If people have to wait 50 minutes for a bus, they might as well plan on not taking it at all. Out of 100 students polled, 57 admitted to getting in the car with a person who has been drinking.
If more buses were added to the nighttime loop, students would have less waiting time, and be more likely to catch the bus, rather than accepting an unsafe ride. Not only do we want to keep drunk drivers off the road, but it’s also paramount to keep all students safe.
A few years back, a 19-year-old KU student by the name of Kyle Quinn was found in a pile of blood at 2:30 a.m. by a borough police officer. Quinn was walking down Main Street and had been fatally beaten by three men who were looking for a fight. According to KU Crime Alerts on the official KU Web site, there has been a robbery, theft, and three reported rapes. It’s unsafe to be walking anywhere at night for these many reasons. Crimes like these should be prevented and improvements should be made to help that happen. It’s not that adding buses will completely stop people from making bad decisions, or crime statistics from going down, but it’s a start to helping keep the student body safe.
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