Graphic by Haley Laningham
Pepperdine Probz knows your Pepperdine struggles, and this week we are here to reflect on a sincere pain of the shuttle lifestyle.
It’s 9:50 a.m. and you’re driving on campus to get to class when, suddenly, a moral dilemma of Pepperdine proportions is presented. Do you blow by the shuttle stop without offering any of the poor students rides?
The shuttle is not anyone’s ideal form of transportation. It’s crowded, and sometimes that one weird bus-sized shuttle comes instead of the normal ones. Every person waiting for a shuttle has dreams that a generous driver may offer them a lift up the hill.
However, the ironic dilemma is that no driver ever wants to make the dreaded stop.
There are essentially two options open to the driver in this delicate scenario: Stop and offer a ride to people they may know at the stop or coldly continue on without assisting the car-less, waiting students.
There is one key feature of a successful shuttle stop pass without engaging in a pickup. The driver must remain focused. Drive without glancing at the stop and risking recognition, which could initiate an obligatory pickup based upon social relation. Always remember, eye contact is the demise of the hurried driver.
Should a noob be goaded into picking up a comrade, there are several important dilemmas that must be tackled.
Stopping for passengers requires much unanticipated effort on the part of the driver. Pulling over near a crosswalk is always a hassle which is sure to illicit dirty looks from road-crossers. Not only must they pull over to pick up students, but they will likely be required to remove their backpack from the passenger seat; demanding full bicep engagement and risking possible next day soreness.
The worst-case scenario of the shuttle pickup is the shuttle’s arrival while your car is still pulled into its place at the stop. There is an indescribable feeling of dread associated with realizing that, not only have you wasted the pickup, but the shuttle driver will most definitely be giving you a courtesy honk in a few short seconds.
So, weigh your options carefully before making the risky decision to do favors for others. The shuttle will come, those waiting will survive and you may continue up the hill without guilt. Go forth and drive independently.
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