With Halloween about a month away, Patricia A. Whitely met with Student Government Wednesday morning to discuss the Ibis Ride to the Grove. Whitely said the special shuttle service was canceled for various reasons.
Last year the Halloween Ibis Ride was canceled after nearly a hundred students, many of whom were intoxicated, scrambled to board only three shuttles in what witnesses described as a “bum rush.” Police were involved in calming the crowd, and while no one was seriously injured, the disorganization prompted the Dean of Students office to form a committee to reassess the Halloween Ibis Ride. That committee then issued a decision to cancel the Halloween shuttle to the Grove.
Following the initial cancellation, Student Government President Danny Carvajal and Speaker Brandon Gross met with Whitely to form a shuttle review committee that would consist of students, administrators, University of Miami Police Department staff and traffic engineers. Despite UMPD’s Chief of Police David Rivero’s statement that students would be protected from the dangers of drunken driving if shuttles are provided, Whitely’s office has maintained the ban on this year’s Halloween shuttle.
“The principle is that we are never going to do it in the middle of the week,” Whitely said. “It disrupts the academic schedule.”
The decision came after rejecting a SG proposal that would have accommodated 500 students on ten coach buses.
“The recommendation would be a going-caravan that would depart from campus around 9 p.m. and a returning-caravan around 2 a.m.,” Carvajal said in a SG meeting earlier this month. “It’s costly-about $12,000 to $15,000-but it’s worth pursuing and pushing the administration.”
Whitely explained the decision to forgo the popular Halloween shuttle this year was based on logistical concerns. She said it is easier to provide shuttles on Thursdays, Fridays and weekends because there is already a system in place.
“I know that next year Halloween falls on a Friday, and we will strongly consider working with the shuttles to plan for that,” Whitely said.
Kelly Herson may be contacted at k.herson@umiami.edu.