Dear Editors,
Regarding the recent editorial on campus safety concerns:
(This does not reflect the opinions of Wellesley College Campus Police).
Many of the concerns highlighted are valid; they also largely deal with administrative policies and issues. The comments about the campus shuttle, however, are not only inaccurate in many cases, but also regard a service offered by student workers for fellow students. We, the undersigned, some of those students you may have seen driving the van, would like to offer some clarification.
The first of these inaccurate statements was that the van runs between 6 p.m. and midnight. It actually runs between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. every night, meaning there are several student workers who stay up until 2 a.m. to provide this service. The only times the shuttle does not run are the rare instances when a student is suddenly too sick to drive or has an emergency of some kind. Many times, another student is able to pick up the shift—we could all use an extra hour—but occasionally, they are unstaffed.
Regarding the skipping of stops, this issue almost always occurs because the van is full. When sizable groups of people try to get on at once, it isn’t always possible to fit everyone. In this case, drivers usually take as many people as they can, go off-route to drop off students and return to the original stop for extra passengers. The van will then start back on the route where it should be at that time based on the published schedule. This may mean missed stops during a round of campus, particularly on our busiest nights (Fridays and Saturdays, especially during parties). Should you find yourself in this situation, we encourage you to call 781-283-3206 to check the van’s status. The student worker at the desk—or the police dispatcher on duty—can tell you if the van had to go off route, when it should be around next and/or if it can swing back for you before continuing. We do our best to transport fellow students around campus as efficiently as possible.
While many of us need a job to support ourselves here, we choose to work for Campus Police because we enjoy driving, meeting new people and helping our classmates get around campus. We do this despite comments some have heard from passengers, such as “It must be so embarrassing to have to drive a van around campus for a job.”
We would like to reiterate that we are not high-level administrators or employees of a faceless company, but your classmates and neighbors. We are doing our best to help out; what we ask for in return is respect.
If you have suggestions to improve the shuttle, we encourage you to email supervisors.campuspo@wellesley.edu. The Student Manager and Supervisors would be happy to take your comments into consideration.
Lauren Mostrom ’18, Student Manager, Nick Blinzler ’18, Student Supervisor, Empress Helwig ’19, Student Supervisor, Veronica Locher ’19, Student Supervisor, Grace Bernard ’18, Seren Riggs-Davis ’21
