LAWRENCE-KU students are constantly threatened by the dreaded "DUI,"but the alternateives are becoming dangerous as well. Many students have to resort to walking long distances to get home after a night of drinking.
After a lengthy night of partying on Massachusetts Street, Wichita freshman Grant Warren found himself leaving Abe and Jake's with a long walk ahead of him back to his residence in Templin Hall. When asked if he was scared to walk home Warren explained "I am more worried about how long this walk is going to take than if anybody is going to mess with me."
Students face the threat of all kinds of things including, getting mugged, raped, or even hit by another drunk driver on their intoxicated journey back from Massachusetts Street to the dorms.
KU students do have other options. SAFERIDE is available from 10:30p.m.-2:30a.m. weekly, and many chapters in the Greek system provide safe rides for their members; however, many students become tired of waiting.
Derby freshman Chris Brown, explained "When I'm ready to go home, I'm ready to go. If i have to walk, I guess I have to walk." When asked why he did not call SAFERIDE or a taxi Brown explained, "SAFERIDE takes forever, and I just don't have the money for a taxi."
The wait for SAFERIDE becomes frustrating. If students cannot bare the drunken wait for a safe ride and feel they must risk walking back to campus on their own, at least they are keeping themselves out of jail.