University finds new way to wield power over student

To me, the issue the bike fee raises is not the $15 payment or the supposed improvements the university promises with the proceeds of the new policy. What I can’t help but think is that this is just another way for the university to wield power over students and tell them what they can and can’t do. The administration already makes me register my car and keeps me from smoking on campus. Why not create an additional level of bureaucracy for me when I want to ride my bike to school? If the fee and registration weren’t enough, according to the Kernel, some guy named Scott Beckmeyer wants to give me a “mandatory bicycle education program.” What is up with that?

To the administration and to Scott, I want to tell you something: Please leave me alone. Let me ride my bike to school in peace. Don’t create additional hoops for me to jump through; I already have classes and homework and other more important tasks to complete than to participate in your registration process and “how to ride a bike” class. If money is the reason for this, then just charge me the $15 on my tuition. I am not going to notice $15 on a bill that already runs thousands of dollars. Just please don’t try and control every aspect of what I do here on campus.

James Cash

second-year law