OPINION: The case for taking the bus

The seniors know; the underclassmen know; everyone knows. Cars are bumper-to-bumper in the morning, stuck in stressful traffic. As a result, many seniors are left rushing out of their cars at 7:40, hoping not to tack another late onto their permanent records and risk losing the privilege of driving to school.

Many students think that the bus is uncomfortable and picks them up too early. Refusing to get up a few minutes earlier to make the bus will not prepare them for the real world, where they may need to wake up at 5 a.m. to take the bus or the train into the city for work. It is easier to be on time rather than to be late, stuck in traffic and driving yourself. Driving is a privilege for seniors, and the government spends about 4.2 percent of public education money on buses every year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

“The more parents who drop off their students, the more traffic there will be,” Principal Caesar Diliberto said. “We encourage all students to take the bus, not only for the convenience of parents but for the environment.”

Many seniors are either forced to leave at 7:10 and sit in the parking lot for 15 minutes, or leave at 7:25 and risk getting stuck in traffic until 7:40. In my opinion, the new traffic light has made traffic much worse, because two or three cars will come out of the school, and someone is trying to go straight, to the turn into the school is blocked off. Traffic coming from Greenbrook Ave and Central Ave does not move for what feels like ever, and students grow more and more anxious, worrying that they will get too many lates and get in trouble or lose driving privileges. 

As a word of advice to underclassmen, just take the bus. It is easier for everyone and better in the long run. The school spends a considerable amount of their budget on bussing, so you might as well use this service that is being paid for.