During Saturday’s football game against Virginia Tech, the student buses to campus began returning at halftime. But in the midst of the rainy and windy night, there was much disorder.
The discomfort of the rain made students want to leave the game early, even though the university has been trying to encourage us to stay until the end.
The line of students waiting for buses – which I was a part of – was, understandably, longer than usual. Yet, there was not enough direction coming from the staff monitoring the lines. While students were told to make the trek to the end, many cut the line as soon as they saw friends who had spots closer to the front.
Many of those students were not caught or reprimanded, as the staff seemed inattentive – just as eager to get out of the rain as the students. This disorder upset the cold and impatient students standing in line, including my friends.
Dripping wet in the rain, the football game attendees huddled up as they tried to keep warm. Meanwhile, loading all of the students onto the buses proved to be a bitterly slow process, even for those who’d left the game early in an attempt to avoid long lines.
We were eager to get out of the rain, but also dreading stepping onto the buses for the sole reason that we might have to sit in the frigid air conditioning. And while many of the bus drivers were courteous enough to turn it off, others were not, even after students’ requests.
More assertiveness on the part of the staff overseeing the lines, cooperation from the bus drivers and advance preparation from the university would have made the process much quicker and smoother.
It may seem ideal to keep students in the stadium for the full duration of the game – especially when it’s Homecoming – but unexpected occurrences arise, such as inclement weather, that require our safe and prompt return to campus.
Emily Dabau is a freshman majoring in journalism and public relations.