The possibility of going to Tijuana on Wednesday and Saturday nights has always been alluring for many UCSD students craving a night of dancing and entertainment that is not easily attainable at this campus.
However what is synonymous with a night in Mexico is drinking. Typically, one designated driver will stay sober while the rest of the group consumes alcohol.
However, in many cases, the designated driver for the evening ends up drinking. Rather than leaving the car at the border, the person drives it back home while under the influence of alcohol, thereby endangering the lives of everyone in the car.
Although many believe that if UCSD provided shuttle service to the border promotes underage drinking, the extra safety that it would provide is far more beneficial than any other negative side effect.
It is true that with this new shuttle, only one more person per car could drink without having to fear drunken driving. With shuttles to and from the border, fewer students’ lives would be threatened by drunk driving.
To minimize these problems, the Guardian feels that the A.S. Council should work to offer a charter service to the border on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The transportation could be provided on large charter buses rented from an outside company from roughly 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. on each of these two nights.
Though similar to Triton Taxi, this program would not allow students to call at their own convenience to get a ride back from Mexico.
This would obviously make the cost prohibitive. However, if there could be distinct pick-up times when students would have to meet for their rides, the costs could be kept lower.
We understand that this program would cost money, but corporate sponsors, such as the Mexican clubs themselves, could pay for their names to be placed on all advertisements for the program, perhaps on the buses themselves.
The buses would increase clubs’ business and therefore they would have a vested interest in participating. And if they chose not to sponsor these buses, there are many companies in San Diego that would be willing to donate to this cause in exchange for some positive publicity.
However, even if other outside sponsors could not be found, students would almost certainly pay the $5 cost per person to fund the bus if necessary, as doing so would curtail the problem of drinking and driving and having to find rides to Mexico.
In a school criticized for a lack of social activities, providing this service for the students would make things better to a small degree, not to mention safer.
