2008 Woodie Awards
Safe Ride abuses need to stop
Jonathan Mettin
Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: Opinions
Remember when you were a kid, you were playing a game with your friends, having a good time. Then that one kid came along and hogs the ball or breaks the toy and everybody has to suffer because of that one kid. Remember those days? Well, the same thing is happening with Safe Ride right now, just with consequences more serious than having to go buy a new ball.
Don't get me wrong, Safe Ride is an amazing program that has probably saved dozens of Riddle students from getting in car wrecks. But, unfortunately, a small group of students is ruining this great program for the rest of us.
Safe Ride can be split into two kinds of rides - non-emergencies, where a flat $8 fee applies, and the actual Safe Rides, where students get a free ride to their residence away from an unsafe situation. The student could be intoxicated and unable to drive or simply stuck in a bad neighborhood in the middle of the night.
Lately, however, it has become apparent that some students are abusing the system, and if corrective measures are not taken, the Safe Ride program will be in serious jeopardy.
It was revealed last week that about 25 percent of Safe Rides were legitimate Safe Rides. A lot of Safe Rides were to and from places like Wal-Mart and the movie theater. One student in particular used more than 40 Safe Rides in the month of September alone - investigation by the Student Court revealed he was using Safe Ride to travel to and from work and campus. The Court has also found students carrying cards with fraudulent addresses and that some have multiple cards with multiple addresses.
The Safe Ride program is expensive to maintain, and is paid for by the Student Government Association fee. These abuses make it even more expensive, which draws money away from club funding, to name one. I encourage the SGA to punish the students who are abusing the system and, if necessary, alter the program to cut down on these abuses.
Don't get me wrong, Safe Ride is an amazing program that has probably saved dozens of Riddle students from getting in car wrecks. But, unfortunately, a small group of students is ruining this great program for the rest of us.
Safe Ride can be split into two kinds of rides - non-emergencies, where a flat $8 fee applies, and the actual Safe Rides, where students get a free ride to their residence away from an unsafe situation. The student could be intoxicated and unable to drive or simply stuck in a bad neighborhood in the middle of the night.
Lately, however, it has become apparent that some students are abusing the system, and if corrective measures are not taken, the Safe Ride program will be in serious jeopardy.
It was revealed last week that about 25 percent of Safe Rides were legitimate Safe Rides. A lot of Safe Rides were to and from places like Wal-Mart and the movie theater. One student in particular used more than 40 Safe Rides in the month of September alone - investigation by the Student Court revealed he was using Safe Ride to travel to and from work and campus. The Court has also found students carrying cards with fraudulent addresses and that some have multiple cards with multiple addresses.
The Safe Ride program is expensive to maintain, and is paid for by the Student Government Association fee. These abuses make it even more expensive, which draws money away from club funding, to name one. I encourage the SGA to punish the students who are abusing the system and, if necessary, alter the program to cut down on these abuses.
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Student Rep
posted 12/07/06 @ 1:05 PM EST
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that Safe Ride is not a right, it is a privilige. And like all, if you abuse it, it will be taken away. (Continued…)
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