Rants
On the NYU Airport Shuttle
By Bella Gil, Beauty and Style Editor
Getting back and forth between JFK airport and campus is one skill I’ve yet to master. If traveling light and at a reasonable time, my go-to is to take the subway and the AirTrain. However, when making the trip at night, which I usually do, I’ll take the NYU-discounted SuperShuttle, and every time, I swear it’s the last one. Basically, you get what you pay for. For around $20, you get to sit for two hours in an extremely cold shuttle that sounds like it’s going to fall apart at any second. The last time I took it, I waited at the airport for two hours (after being told my wait time would be 30 minutes) and was only picked up after I contacted them about their ETA. I’ve sat through that grueling trip back to Manhattan at 1 a.m. to hear a small voice in the back after we crossed the East River: “Um, are we going to stop at Tandon?” This year, the shuttle service has been restructured to stop all over the city, not just at on-campus locations like last year, extending your time in there and wearing your patience. The airport shuttle is a hit or miss — you can’t beat the price, but it still comes with a cost.
On Amtrak
By Ethan Zack, Music Editor
Every time I commute back home to Washington D.C., I’m forced to confront my archnemesis once again: Northeast Regional Train 93. This godforsaken train, without fail, is always delayed by at least half an hour. Why? Who knows. All I know is that Amtrak must be in denial because they always post an expected train departure time that winds up being completely useless. And so I always end up at the station, usually an hour early on the off chance that maybe this time, this one time, the train will arrive when it says it will arrive, only to be let down once again. Maybe I’m the fool.
On People Not Knowing How to F-cking Walk
By Victor Porcelli, News Editor
People need to learn how to f-cking walk. For starters: walk on the right side of the sidewalk. Not the left side. I didn’t think that was something you’d have to tell people, but after multiple instances where I’ve hugged the right side of the sidewalk and someone has walked directly at me as if I’m the one in the wrong place is … astounding. And another thing: don’t take up the entire sidewalk! I thought this was common courtesy too, but when a group of people takes up the entire space and you’re just stuck behind them trying to maneuver in between the li’l shrubbery areas or lamp posts, it is not fun. And then there are the people that just don’t move and expect you to move for them. Sometimes I just want to walk directly into them.
On Safe Ride
By Anna-Dmitry Muratova, Senior Reporter
Last semester my friends and I went to a concert in Brooklyn. A beautiful time with lovely people, right? Sadly, the Safe Ride we tried to order took the night down from 10 to seven. Once we got back to Washington Square Park, I called a Safe Ride to take me back to Third North and hung out with my friends at Lipton as I waited for it. Did it come? Bold of you to assume it did. 15 minutes passed. 20 minutes. 25 minutes. An hour came and went. Two hours, two and a half hours … I called it again at 2 a.m. and one more time at 3 a.m. Did it come at 2 a.m.? No. At 3 a.m.? No. It never showed up. At 4 a.m. I just went outside to catch a cab. Even though I’ve used Safe Ride again, I don’t trust it for a second.
On Safe Ride (Again)
By Alexandria Johnson, Deputy News Editor
Safe Ride just needs to be better. When I’m in an NYU building after midnight, whether that’s finishing an assignment or hanging out with friends, it should not take a lifetime to be picked up. When I first make my request online, the Safe Ride’s estimated time of arrival always varies depending on each second. I’ll check my phone as soon as I make the request, so I can have an estimated time for when I should be ready. One instance, it will say that there is only one stop before me and another instance, I’m waiting for over an hour because there are six stops ahead of me. I understand that many people make their requests at the same time, but the current technology NYU Public Safety fails to keep up with the changing pace of the students. One time I was picked up from my friend’s dorm and the driver had to stop at 726 Broadway so they could change their iPad because it had crashed. For Safe Ride to be better, the Department of Public Safety needs more funding to get technology that will stay up to date with the students’ demands. We should never have to think about walking or taking the train when doing so could endanger us — especially since this service is available to us for all the tuition we pay.
Raves
On Nice Views
By Lauren Gruber, Deputy Culture Editor
I actually have something positive to say this week! When I’m not forced to rush to and from class via the hellish NYU bus system, I actually really enjoy my walks through SoHo to Lafayette Street Residence Hall. SoHo is undeniably one of the prettiest parts of Manhattan, with its cobblestone streets and ever-photogenic cast-iron buildings. I like to take my time, listen to some Berhana or my therapy podcasts and look through the windows of all the expensive shops. New York, in my opinion, is equally beautiful in rain or shine — both make me feel like I’m the pensive female lead in a 1950s film. My walks through SoHo truly make my serotonin levels rise and are my preferred form of weekly self-care.
On Collective Jaywalking
By Lisa Cochran, Deputy News Editor
I enjoy walking. As someone who seldom goes to the gym, not only is it my single means of exercise but it’s also how I reach my endorphin quota every day. Yet no genre of walking quite captivates me as much as jaywalking — more specifically, when it’s done collectively. There is nothing quite as marvelous as crossing the street when you shouldn’t alongside a large group of people who simultaneously made the decision to cross the street when they shouldn’t. Not only does this make me feel like I am fulfilling some sort of New York rite of passage, but it is comforting to know that if a Honda Civic hurtles through 10th Street at absurd speeds, it will not hit just me, but all of us, jaywalkers united in shared stupidity.
Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.
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