I read Sarah J. Schaffer's call to action in the November 2 Dartboard ("Gandhi On a Mountain Bike") with great interest. It seemed that she would join such luminaries as Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King in opposing some great injustice. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the moral principle she upheld was the right to ride down pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Ms. Schaffer states that she "...would rather have a bicyclist hit a pedestrian than a car hit a bicyclist." I must confess that I have only received one year of Harvard's fine education, but I believe that is what is known as a "false dilemma." Nonetheless, Ms. Schaffer is compelled to make this agonizing choice because the seven minutes required to cross Harvard Yard on foot is "...to much for most Harvard students to sacrifice." Apparently a few minutes of time in the interests of public safety constitutes an unconscionable infringement of right, but injuries sustained under the wheels of a cyclist equates to the citizen's contribution to a just society.
Finally, in response to Ms. Schaffer's question, "Have you ever tried to bike through Harvard Square on the street?" I answer, "Yes, daily." When the traffic becomes too heavy, I walk, thus sparing myself her "kill-or-be-killed" dilemma. --Wade Markel GSAS, Dept. of History
Read more in Opinion
MAIL:Recommended Articles
-
GANDHI ON A MOUNTAIN BIKECivil disobedience is the order of the day for bicyclists. The Cambridge Police Department recently increased enforcement of rules applying
-
City Studies Bike Parking Near SquareCambridge may soon provide parking spaces for the many bikes in Harvard Square, Traffic Commissioner Robert Rudolph told two members
-
Bicycle Rider Strikes Radcliffe FreshmanA Radcliffe freshman was injured by a hit-and-run bicyclist yesterday morning in front of Lowell Lecture Hall. Margaret E. deBeers
-
CYCLIST STILL AT LARGECambridge police reported yesterday that they do not know the identity of the bicyclist who ran into and injured Margaret
-
No HeadlineW. Crawford, a prominent amateur bicyclist of Chicago, who broke the five mile record last month, is preparing to enter
-
Fact and Rumor.There will be an hour examination in Philosophy 2 tomorrow. A fencing club has recently been formed at Columbia. The