In a
move that’s come as a real shock to Cornell Students, The Tompkins County
Department of Transportation has banned all freshmen from riding TCAT Buses,
effective immediately. In a recent announcement, County Transportation
Secretary Jay LaHood stated, “Its time for the disrespect to end. There have been lots of complaints by drivers
of freshman vomiting on buses or of freshmen mooning other passengers. We tried to make the buses less fun, via
purple lighting, but frankly we don’t feel that it’s working. We believe that the only solution left is to
ban freshman from the buses.” To smokers in particular, this development is
expected to come as a real blow. Dan
Silverman, a freshman who smokes, had this to say, “I’m not looking forwards to
walking, especially in the snow or rain.
I’ve even been considering buying a Segway or even a bike if things get
really bad.”
Still, regardless of class, Cornell
students have not been taking this news lightly. Even seniors fear a similar
fate could befall them in their final weeks at Cornell, and dread having to
commute by foot from College Town. “Its REALLY bad when kids can’t ride the bus,”
said Senior David Morton. Similarly, students in Cornell’s Chapter of the ACLU
(American Civil Liberties Union) have reacted to this matter by threatening to
sue TCAT, under the grounds that this is, “discrimination at its finest.” Overall,
student Tyrell Brown provides my personal favorite summary of this occurrence; “This
is some Rosa Parks bull s*#t.”
