Once upon a time, Gustavus Student Senate had received enough complaints that it decided to brainstorm, create and implement a trial run for a “new” way of doing things for the Gus Bus.

Fast forward to the end of January. Our polls showed that a whopping 70% of people wanted the “old” Gus Bus system. Student Senate was debating whether it would finish the trial period. The students had spoken—get rid of this “new” way of doing things.

I wish that this was the only incident of the “taxi” versus “bus” argument—a hiccup in the annals of Gustavus history. But soon after, I heard about another route system. Campus Safety (still affectionately called S&S by some) was changing its escort service to match the Gus Bus trial. From those “in the know,” this idea came about because of Student Senate. Quite the unfortunate hiccup!

But I cannot say this is simply a “hiccup.” As part of researching the Gus Bus, I recently started talking to old co-presidents and alums. As far as I can tell, the Gus Bus has existed in some fashion since before 1989.

Student Senate has run the Gus Bus since the mid-’90s. This exact same argument, “taxi” or “bus,” has been happening since at least 1997. That’s 14 years and counting, Gusties. Funny thing though—every few years the complaints build up, Senate switches to the “bus” system, and a backlash sends the Gus Bus back to the taxi style. But people graduate, thel memory fades and someone suggests a brilliant “new” idea.

I assume only about six or so people read my ramblings in this column, and I don’t expect people to read my rants every week. However, if you did read my column in January, you know I was a fan of the “new” Gus Bus trial. Oh how my opinion would have changed had I known that the end result would be the escort system changing!

I have spent quite a bit of time discussing and arguing the change to the escorts. I would figure that after at least 14 years of trying and failing, this same concept with the Gus Bus would be a good argument against it, but perhaps not.

Under the trial system, anyone could call the Gus Bus to find out where the buses were. I tried this once already under the escort system, to call the Campus Safety office and find out where the escort was. I was told that dispatchers don’t know and that it would be “no more than” twenty minutes.

For context, I live in Arbor View. In twenty minutes I can walk from Arbor View to College View, get to my buddy’s room, use the restroom and crack open a beer (yes, yes, I’m 21, editors!). Yes, this will discourage people from using an escort service as a taxi—but at what cost?

The reason the escort service exists, unlike the Gus Bus, is purely for safety and security purposes. If someone does not feel safe walking to their dorm at night, the escorts will escort. Imagine someone standing at the bottom of the library ramp for twenty minutes, potentially in the blizzard happening as I write this. That individual now must choose between waiting twenty minutes for an escort to feel safe or walking back.

The fact that anybody who feels unsafe walking home in the dark must make that choice means that the reason for the escort service’s very existence has been killed by the people who were supposed to protect those students, like Caesar on the Senate floor (too soon?). I would love to hear the WAC’s response to this.

That is the real tragedy here: those students are now unsafe. Assault, sexual or not, is not a total stranger to our community. I only hope Campus Safety realizes their mistake before it visits again.