A Not-So-Green Mentality

As someone who lives a block away, I always feel guilty for bringing my car to school. I waste gasoline, spend time stuck in traffic and often arrive late because of this. Any time I invite someone over to my house, or I tell them where I live, I am always asked the same question: “Why drive to school?”

After a year of unnecessary waste, I finally brought my bike to school with a sense of enthusiasm and relief. I wasn’t just saving time and money, I was reducing my carbon footprint as well. Everything was fine until the day reached its end. As the dismissal bell rang, I rushed over to my bicycle so I wouldn't have to deal with the traffic, but a guard stopped me as I prepared to leave on my bicycle, telling me I must go to the office. This confused me, but I felt whomever I had to seek permission would be comprehensive about my situation, and would even encourage it.

I was led to Ms. Lamadrid and Mr. Guenther, who told me that what I was doing was extremely prohibited. Apparently, staff members can enter the premises in whatever form of transportation they choose, yet students are only allowed to arrive in a car. They insisted this prohibition was for safety reasons, and that they were creating special permission slips that could be signed by parents to make other forms of transportation possible. But, seeing that every student arrives in a car, isn’t ASFM supposed to be ‘green’?

It is no question that our city is poorly designed which makes it inefficient and unsafe for cycling and walking. Therefore, if the school or our society doesn't raise awareness and encourage action on this issue now, we will not only continue with insecure streets for pedestrians and cyclists, but we would ultimately contribute to the ongoing destruction of our home. Our generation will be the next to lead this city, yet the school is not encouraging alternative transportation methods. If we truly were aware of the ecological damage we are creating, feasible measures are taken, not only spoken.