Confessions of an Ibis Ride monitor
If you have taken the free Ibis Ride shuttle to the Grove in the last two years, then you know who I am. I’m the guy at the front asking people for their ‘Cane Cards. I work every Thursday riding the bus back and forth from Stanford Circle to Cocowalk. Sometimes I even work on Fridays or Saturdays. I was working on Halloween when things got out of hand, and I don’t understand why everyone is surprised by what happened. The behavior of most of the kids who ride the Ibis Ride is terrible.
I have to say if students would just act their age instead of their shoe size, there would be a lot less Ibis Ride incidents altogether. Most UM students I have experienced while on the bus are truly annoying, disruptive, disrespectful, dangerous, destructive, and just plain dumb. These students think that the Ibis Ride is a personal limousine service who is supposed to pick them up exactly when they step out of the bar and drop them off on their doorstep.
Not only do these students think they are important enough to tell the bus where to go and when to do it, their behavior is juvenile. I have seen everything on that bus. I have seen students damage the bus, throw up, make out, scream, throw food, literally trash the bus, attempt to steal my personal property, fist fight, try to fistfight with me, and just a few weeks ago, one of the students was harassing the bus driver, yelling racial slurs at her.
Who do you think you are? I am a student, just like you, and the bus drivers are great people who work shifts they hate because you want to go get trashed and not pay for a ride home. And don’t give me that “I pay $40,000 a year to go here, so I should be able to do what I want” bull, either. Guess what? I do, too – and I pay my tuition out of my own pocket. This job is one of the ways I do it, so give me a break, and check your attitude and childish behavior at the door.
Michael Abeyta Senior
RE: A list of disposable items and people at UM
I was disappointed to see Adam Flomenbaum list WVUM as something he felt the University of Miami could do without. While I am almost positive Mr. Flomenbaum and his collaborator wrote the article tongue-in-cheek, I must question the effectiveness and aim of disparaging a fellow student medium, even in jest. I wonder if Mr. Flomenbaum can name a single artist on WVUM’s rotation (he need only visit WVUM.org, or often check the back pages of the paper he writes for).
I doubt he realizes that the College Music Journal has critically acclaimed WVUM. In terms of college music charts, if WVUM plays an album once, it is the equivalent of another college station playing it six times. I also wonder if he knows that WVUM provides a great service to the South Florida community as the only area station that broadcasts the Metropolitan Opera. And that’s only music – WVUM is the only media outlet that covers every second of University of Miami women’s basketball and every pitch of Hurricane’s baseball line over the airwaves and streaming online. WVUM also works with clubs and promoters to give away concert tickets and movie tickets for advanced screenings.
WVUM understands that not everyone enjoys the music we play, but we would appreciate some respect for the fact that we play music no one else does. We pride ourselves on being on the cutting-edge of music (we played Death Cab long before Mr. Flomenbaum did while enjoying a stogie). Contrary to what some people may believe, WVUM does care what the UM campus body thinks about our station. However, we cannot improve without constructive criticism, which Mr. Flomendaum failed to offer.
Jay Dryburgh
Sports Director, WVUM 90.5FM
Junior
RE: Alcohol, tempers mix on Halloween night
Everyone here is college-age and needs to take responsibility for their deplorable behavior.