NEWS
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Student bike accident raises cencerns abeut bike safety
BY CHLOE LiNDEMAN
Staff Writer
When Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Bruno
choked up at the beginning of Chemistry 112, the whole class
knew something was wrong.
"Your classmate Sam Allen was in an accident this
morning," he told the class. "He's in surgery now."
Allen, a senior, was critically injured on April 19 in an
accident with a CMC Yukon while riding his bike helmet
less through the intersection between West Friendly Avenue
and Dolley Madison Road.
The accident raised community-wide concerns about
bicycle safety.
"Greensboro ... is not perfect for bicycling," said Mark
Schulz, president of Bicycling in Greensboro. "On the other
hand, I see progress as well."
Guilford students can hopefully learn from the accident
and make improvements to their own safety habits.
"Anytime tragedy happens, we can learn from it," said
Director of Public Safety Ron Stowe. "If there's one thing
that we can all learn from this, it's the importance of paying
attention and being careful and ... doing things to protect
yourself."
Understanding bicycle safety is critical, especially because
so many students at Guilford use bikes as their primary
mode of transportation.
Helmets
Wearing a helmet is one of the safest and effective
precautions cyclists can take. It cushions the impact in an
accident, protecting the rider's head from injury.
"I highly recommend wearing a helmet," said Schulz. "It's
only the law for people under 16, but just because it's not
required doesn't mean it's not still a good idea."
"The only real evidence for not wearing bicycle helmets is
that people who don't wear them tend to be more cautious.
but I think that's missing the point," said Bruno. "If you are
aware of the argument, that means you're informed enough
to wear a helmet."
Tfaffic rules
"Bicyclists fare best when they behave as other vehicles on
the road and follow the traffic laws at the most basic level,"
said Schulz.
Bikes cannot behave exactly as cars can as they are smaller
and don't move as quickly, but they are expected to ride on
the road alongside cars.
"It's illegal to ride on the sidewalk in the center city, but
riding on the sidewalks (anywhere) is a very questionable
practice," said Schulz. "One, it can be dangerous to
pedestrians. But two, cars don't expect you there. You're
going much faster than a pedestrian."
Lights
If drivers cannot see you, they cannot avoid you. To
ensure visibility at all times, wear reflective clothing and
attach lights to your bike.
"It is so, so important to be properly lit, to have a headlight
and taillight if you ride — even at dusk and definitely in the
evening," said Schulz. "The law is when riding at night, a
bicycle must have a front lamp and a red light or a reflector...
but I highly recommend having a taillight and a headlight."
Be aware
"When riding a bike, you've got to be aware of traffic and
other things going on around you," said Stowe. "If a car or
truck runs a red light, even if you have the right of way, it's
not going to hurt any less."
On the other side, being aware is also important for
drivers.
"Be on the lookout for bicycles," said Stowe. "Bicycles
have a legal right to be on the road too, so cars need to watch
out for them ... and give bicycles the right of way when it's
due them."
"Each year (Bicycling in Greensboro) sponsors the Ride of
Silence, which is an international event with local rides ... in
honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling
on public roads," said Schulz.
This year's event is May 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Look for
more information at:
http://WWW.BIKEGSO.ORG/DEFAULT.
ASPX7PAGEID= 1272035
NORTH CAROLINA
BIKE FACTS AND LAWS
Required to wear helmet on public roads
and paths
Prohibited to bike on interstates and
freeways except on selected routes
Required to have;
• active front white light
• active rear red light
• rear reflector
Illegal to ride/walk a bike on or near
railroad tracks
To find bike paths and trails
in North Carolina, go to:
WWW.NCDOT.GOV/TRAVEL/
MAPPUBS/BIKEMAPS/
SYMPOSIUM
SENATE Update
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This Week's
Developments
The Dick Dyer Awards were handed out at this week’s meetings, as well as the
Senate scholarship awards for next year.
f
Senate approved club’s budgets for 2013-14. Erin Fox discussed her plan to create a
dining committee to work with Meriwether Godsey.
Next Week's Plans
This was the last Senate meeting of the semester!
Thank you to everyone who has attended meetings and participated in Senate this
year. We look forward to seeing you next semester!
Contact Us
We need to hear your voice! Have an idea? Concern? Great recipe? It’s important to
us.
Questions? Email: senate@guilford.edu or visit
http://guilfordsenate.wordpress.com
Compiled by Tim Leisman, Community Senate President
Overcoming obstacles, following in
Bayard Rustin’s footsteps
Continued from Page I
don't (mean) because we are given too much
of a definition," said Staphon Snelling,
A&T University senior and Queer and
Christianity panel member. "I don't think
there is a real way to define those words."
"50 Years and Still Marching" was the
symposium's theme, commemorating the
50th anniversary of both the March on
Washington, held August 28, 1963, and the
integration of Guilford College. The event
honored Lead March Organizer and gay
Quaker civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.
The aim of the symposium was to uphold
Bayard Rustin's practices of breaking walls
of class, gender, sexuality, race, ability and
any other obstacles.
"Not just Guilford but pretty much
everybody has a problem of starting to
be very single-issued, said Associate
Professor of Political Science Maria Rosales.
"Bayard Rustin and the Bayard Rustin
Center really emphasize that people have
really complex identities and that you really
need to keep that in mind."
At the event, one could choose workshops
covering various topics including sex,
health and healing, immigration, race, faith
and more.
"When you're looking at the issue of
queemess, you also look at the issues of
race, gender and class," said Franklin. "We
have to talk about those things in order to
get queer liberation.
'This symposium is about liberation
— and not just queer liberation. Through
queer liberation, we liberate everybody.
It liberates us as a community, and I'm
hoping that people see queer liberation just
as that."
Through learning history and discussion
across these boundaries, the symposium
worked to transform how we tfdnk about
community.
"The symposium has a very clear
intersectional analysis that is important (to
be) aware of in thinking about movement
building as an LGBTQQA community,"
said Tiffany Holland '97.
Striving for improvement, the
symposium reached out to youth, telling
them that the future is in their hands.
"I remember history being told as these
huge untouchable icons," said Parker
Hurley, LGBTQQA Coordinator. "We don't
really need anoiher of those people. What
we need is individual students to begin
to see themselves as capable leaders and
change agents." ^
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