By CONNOR RYAN
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The sky — a threateningly deep shade of gray — hung over Rose Hill’s 85 acres on a recent Friday evening as professors and students alike hustled out of academic buildings in quick pursuit of anyplace else. The week had finally ended.
The campus gate that opens to E. Fordham Road, near the Metro-North train station, was an especially fast-paced hub of traffic. Faculty and staff, toting heavy bags of books and paper in one hand and empty lunchboxes in the other, looked ahead as if marking a target. Some occasionally glanced down at their wrists to check the time.
A few students glided in the same direction on skateboards, weaving in and out of those walking.
But, standing at the end of the walking path leading to the Walsh Library stood Patricia Byrne, patiently waiting under a small green sign that read: “Shuttle Stop Here.” She watched the exodus unfurl from a comfortable distance. Byrne’s ride was traveling to meet her.
Her knee hurt, and her car sat on the other side of Rose Hill’s curvy, grassy and sometimes hilly campus. But soon enough, a white six-seater Honda Odyssey rounded a nearby corner and poked into plain sight.
“I love it,” Byrne said, smiling, as the car dodged nearby pedestrians and slowly crawled toward her. A strapping young man was at the wheel.
It dutifully stopped a few feet from where Byrne, who has worked at the university for over 20 years as a secretary in the library, was standing on the side of the narrow road.
“It makes it easy to get around — especially if you’re not feeling good, like if you have pains in your legs, which I do,” she said, walking to the car.
Looking to bridge the trips from handicap parking spaces to academic buildings, as well as satisfy the legal requirements set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fordham’s Office of Safety and Security introduced an on-campus shuttle system to the Rose Hill community in January of 2012.
Since its installation, the white Honda has become as much a school staple as the Gothic architecture it snakes around each day — even to those who may challenge its purpose.
Twelve work-study students take turns driving two cars, typically three-hour shifts, through a 19-stop route each weekday from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. and then 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. One car is definitely in operation all day.
Byrne said that before the shuttle began operating, she would walk through the pain to the other side of campus for her car or meet her husband on Fordham Road — “which was very dangerous,” she said.
John Carroll, associate vice president of Safety and Security, said that before the shuttle system was developed, faculty and staff like Byrne were required to carry a doctor’s note if they wanted a ride through campus. It was a rule that applied to everyone — even the eldest and the most physically challenged members of the community had to prove themselves worthy of a ride due to lagging resources.
But today, the service is available to faculty and staff, as well as students. In fact, Carroll says, there are between 35 and 40 students who need to use the shuttle to get around campus at any given time.
“It’s an invaluable service at very little cost,” he said. “I know people who need it and they depend on it.”
Carroll says that because the drivers are students and their pay comes from Student Employment, the service does not make much of a dent in the department’s yearly budget. His office is only responsible for the costs of the cars.
But, some have questioned the purpose of the service, claiming its very existence is a drain on university funds that could be directed elsewhere. It is a sentiment that was popularized on “The Ramtime Times,” a well-known blog that prides itself on satirizing inside jokes and on-campus discourse.
“Fordham On Campus Shuttle Celebrates First Passenger,” blasted the headline of an article posted last month.
“It has been a banner day at Fordham Security, as the first ever human passenger has reported to have utilized the Fordham on campus shuttle,” the anonymous article said. “The shuttle service, now in its third year of operation, is reportedly ecstatic to cast off the naysayers who argued that the service was a waste of Fordham University’s financial resources.”
Anthony Gatti, FCRH ’14 and a senator in Rose Hill’s United Student Government, says the students who have never needed to use the shuttle — admittedly, most on campus — are probably the ones rolling their eyes, questioning its purpose.
“I have friends in air casts who can technically crutch around, but they use the shuttle to get to and from class or their dorm,” he said. “If it’s something that’s effected [students] directly then they probably don’t think that it’s useless.”
Sarah Baltruweit, FCRH ’15 and one of the shuttle’s drivers, confirmed the service’s clientele is mostly those who are physically challenged. But, she acknowledged that on days when walking the campus is simply unpleasant, all bets are off.
“The number of people riding the shuttle definitely increases as the weather gets colder or if it’s raining,” she said.
Chris Rodgers, the dean of students at Rose Hill, says he understands that the shuttle’s need may not be apparent to some.
But he is happy to see the service implemented after regularly hearing requests for increased accessibility on campus.
“From students who need help with things like sprained ankles, to student athletes with injuries and even staff and faculty who have had surgery or medical problems, it is reassuring to know that we provide this assistance,” he said via email.
When asked to respond to a general campus sentiment of skepticism directed toward the shuttle, Carroll is a bit more direct. To those questioning the need for the service, his message is simple: “Be grateful that you can walk.”
What is the best part of circling Rose Hill in a car for three hours at a time on a regular basis?
“I would say the most rewarding part is getting to meet people I might not have otherwise been introduced to,” Baltruweit said. “Since I started driving, I’ve had conversations with faculty members from all different parts of campus.”
In fact, it is a bonus of the service that is heard in more places than one.
Just before Byrne got into the passenger seat of the shuttle on that gray Friday afternoon, ready to begin her weekend, she turned back for just a moment.
“The drivers are wonderful,” she said. “The kids are really great.”