Young Environmentalists Protest Anti-Bicycle Policy At Their High School
by Andrew Posner, Rhode Island, USA on 05.11.08
Here at Treehugger we've seen lots of examples of activism in high schools as part of our Go Green School of the Week Series (for instance, here, here and here). The following story about a group of high school students in New Jersey, however, truly stands out for the quality of their activism, as well as the intransigence and narrow-mindedness of the principal involved in the incident. The students are members of an environmental club at their high school that had raised $2,000 and wanted to use the funds to donate a bike rack to the school. However, they were told that the school did not want to promote cycling due to safety concerns, and thus the gift was rejected. Ironically enough, the rejection came on Earth Day.
Fortunately, these enterprising high schoolers didn't just sit on their heels. No, they came together and organized the following protest: "more than 50 students rode their bikes to school, commuting in pairs and groups. After studying up on state biking laws -- and carrying copies with them -- the students legally tethered their bikes in conspicuous clusters around lamp posts, trees and other poles dotting the circular drive in front of the school." The students also delivered a letter to the principal. So what was his response?
Well, it wasn't very positive. In a letter he wrote "In as much as the district provides courtesy busing to students who live within walking distance of the high school, because of the danger on Garretson Road, it does (not) make sense, in my opinion, to promote the riding of bicycles to school." Really? So instead of encouraging youth to walk or bicycle, they should take the loud, dirty diesel buses that are provided for free (read that: subsidized by taxpayers)? Here's an idea: why not re-design the streets around the school to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists (shouldn't the streets around a school be safe anyway?) and save the courtesy buses for those that live farther way from campus.
Oh, and maybe the school should re-consider its policy of providing a parking spot for every senior that drives, while not accepting a free bike rack that can cut down on the need for parking spaces.
Via: ::Streetsblog
See Also: ::Pedal for Positive Climate Change, ::High School Senior Fights Flawed Climate Science Info in Popular Textbook, ::High School Homework: Make an Electric Car, ::The TH Interview: Taylor Schmidt, Student at Greensburg High School, ::The Go Green School of the Week: KingWood Park High School in TX!, ::Decatur High School Principal Rides His Bike, ::High School Student on Reef-Building Mission to Change World, ::Lightning Without the Thunder: Utah Kid Schools the World on Clean Cars and ::Plug-in Hybrid School Buses Introduced
How about the principal does something to make Garretson Road safer for students/cyclists or helps find an alternative.
Maybe he should cycle with them rather than obstruct their efforts.
I understand that the current president of the US is a thorough oil man but that shouldn't filter down to every short sighted government official...
Fuel prices aren't high enough yet. $20 / gallon and they'll be begging students to ride bicycles.
Right on! This principal should consider digging up the asphalt around the school and replacing it with green space, due to the safety concerns related to adolescent drivers.
There are so many ways that this principals decision is misguided...
With obesity being one of the primary problems facing this country's youth, more should be done to encourage exercise in teens. I live a quarter mile from the local high school and am daily disturbed by the number of kids in my neighborhood who do not walk to school. Even more disturbing is the number of Juniors who park on my street since they can't park at the school.
I'm glad to see the students standing up for their rights and beliefs.
If the school promotes cycling, and a kid is killed on the road, then the school can be held liable.
It will cost ten times more to make a street safe enough that the school will start promoting bicycling than it will to bus the students.
Face it: Most streets in America are not conducive to bicycles.
Wow, as if the pressures of growing up and figuring out how it all works isn't enough... these poor kids have to do guerilla commuting!
This guy sounds like the type who will clip locks and chains and sell the bikes to some agency.
Watch out boys and girls!!
I think Critical Mass has to pay this place a special visit!!
vsk
Those students are amazing. They should continue to ride until he caves. Or simply go above his head and speak to the school board or city council. This is definitely a case of a man in power refusing to see beyond his own nose.
They should definitely go over the principal's head. I would also like to hear what the rest of the school staff thinks. Including the matinence staff who the prinicipal would instruct to clip locks - get him/her on your side kids!
One of the requirements for being a principal (middle and high school) is to be extremely ignorant and hard-headed with no ability to listen to reason. I have attended both a middle school and high school in my 25 years on this earth, and worked in 4. Principals are pretty much worthless people that we would all be better off without.
Then again, my experience is fairly limited so.... maybe there IS the perfect princiPAL out there... hope my kids one day get to be schooled under him/her.
I mean lets just end all public transit and everyone bike
::Cheers!!!:: Fight the power, kids! School and local government officials not taking students seriously has been an ongoing theme for too long. Bit by bit we can show them that we just wont back down when It comes to OUR future planet.
I'm extremely impressed with these students. They handled their protest with a terrific amount of tact and forethought (carrying the bike laws, travelling in groups, taking care to lock up their bikes safely, etc).
I'd like to hear a parent's side of the issue. Will they support it? Would they be willing to help their children not only do something positive for the environment, but also themselves, and the community?
As a teacher, the biggest thing I've learned, is if you want/need something, get the parents involved (they are the taxpayers afterall).
Outrageous! Respect for the students who are fighting for what is right. No words suffice to probe the depths of misguided angst which motivate that principal.
Streets certainly should be redesigned to be safer for pedestrians and cyclists and they should have priority over vehicles.
The principal is simply doing the best he can with what he's given. (NOTE: I am NOT against the kids biking to school!) It's just that his job is to keep the students safe. If there is a busy road and no bike lanes or sidewalks, it can be extremely dangerous. I work at a middle school on two busy streets where there are no sidewalks, and they have to bus kids who live across the street to avoid kids getting run over.
The push needs to be to make the road safer for kids to bike. I am all for them biking to school...but I am more in favor of making it safe for them to do so. The school cannot determine how road money is spent, so people need to push the local municipality to change the road/sidewalk situation.
Maybe you should provide a means for contacting this school principal. We could let him know how we feel.
scott
I'd much rather have the kids at my school bike than drive their huge SUVs (normally with just one kid in them...and the occassional two).
It never fails that when I catch a small whiff of the diesel exhaust from the school buses at my school, I have a headache for hours. I'm going to try to talk to the superintendent and get him to implement a no idling rule for the school buses. It's amazing how long they will just sit and idle buses. It gives me hives every time they do it because I know it's not necessary and it's destructive.
If the school promotes cycling, and a kid is killed on the road, then the school can be held liable.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Icelander on this one. I suspect it's not the principal to be blamed in this instance; while his stated reasons for not allowing a bike rack might be unsatisfactory, his primary obligation is student safety. Given the tort-happy legal climate in this country, school systems (who are broadly considered to be acting in loco parentis, even outside of school grounds in some instances) could be opening themselves up to huge legal risks by promoting even something as seemingly positive as cycling to school.
Email the blokes in administration!
Let the super and the principal know (cc the super) that you support these kids in their actions and that they should too. It seems rare these days that youth take something like this to heart and push it. They should be getting all the help they can. Maybe the principal should be approaching the county to do something about the unsafe road - like installing bike lanes or a right of way.
James Riccobono, Principal:
jriccobono@brrsd.k12.nj.us
Superintendent Michael Schilder:
mschilder@brrsd.k12.nj.us
Email the blokes in administration!
Let the super and the principal know (cc the super) that you support these kids in their actions and that they should too. It seems rare these days that youth take something like this to heart and push it. They should be getting all the help they can. Maybe the principal should be approaching the county to do something about the unsafe road - like installing bike lanes or a right of way.
James Riccobono, Principal:
jriccobono@brrsd.k12.nj.us
Superintendent Michael Schilder:
mschilder@brrsd.k12.nj.us
Call or e-mail the principal:
James Riccobono
Email: jriccobono@brrsd.k12.nj.us
908-231-8660 ext. 2204
Those students totally rock! There's a real problem if the streets all around the school are not safe - the school should have already been looking into that. And there are ways to get around legal BS, where the school would not have to be responsible for the biking skill level of each student. Absolutely teens should be encouraged to save the planet, excersize, and show people our streets need to be safer!!! The principal needs to be wron down till he backs off, since his only worry is about money/ being sued and not about what really counts.
Those students totally rock! There's a real problem if the streets all around the school are not safe- the school should have already been looking into that. And there are ways to get around legal BS, where the school would not have to be responsible for the biking skill level of each student.
I agree with your first point. Regardless of whether a bike rack gets built or not, if a particular road is considered dangerous, hopefully the school is looking in to ways to address this, such as traffic calming measures. But how would the school 'get around legal BS'? Students aren't old enough to sign indemnity clauses, and I don't know if it would go over well with parents, but maybe.
The principal needs to be wron down till he backs off, since his only worry is about money/ being sued and not about what really counts.
What do you think 'really counts' here? Remember that if the school gets sued, it's not the principal footing the bill, its the local government/school system/taxpayers. Is it good for taxpayers to have to pay out exorbitant settlements? Will this benefit the students in the school system?
Aren't car accidents one of the leading causes of teenage death in this county? They should check out the "Safe Routes to School" movement and lobby thier local legislator, particularly whichever one is responsible for that particular road. If it's that unsafe it's probably a state or county road rather than a local one.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/
This just seems nuts to me. My daughter's elementary school just had new bike racks put in. They allow 3rd grade and up to ride bikes to school. I would think high school students would be responsible enough.
The principal does not care about the price of gas - if the cost of buses increases, they'll simply raise property taxes. It's good that these kids are involved, maybe their parents (who actually pay the property taxes) will get more involved in the school district.
This is awesome. A school that encourages kids not to be inventive, knowledgeable, and socially conscious!! What is wrong there? What do the parents think about this?
Please keep us informed. Meanwhile, I'll be dropping another e-mail into the principal's address.
Thank you for beinging this situation to our awareness. It is really inspiring to remember that adults are not always right.
Go students !!! ...for standing behind what you believe.
Talk about insane spin doctoring!
If the school promotes cycling, and a kid is killed on the road, then the school can be held liable.
By that same rationale,
If the school promotes walking, and a kid is killed on the road, then the school can be held liable.
If the school promotes busing, and a kid is killed on the bus, then the school can be held liable.
If the principal wanted to mitigate legal exposure, he should petition the city to address the unsafe road situation and teach biking/walking/busing safety in his school.
After all, a school is about education, and he is teaching kids to be wasteful oil consumers.
Kudos to the bike kids in the environmental club who are learning how to fight back effectively.
Can't ride a bike? Is there anything legal left to do in this country???
If the roads around the school are as unsafe as the principal alledges it is high time for a police crackdown. Post police cruisers, increase the patrols and nail motorists for a few weeks with everything that contributes to the unsafe road conditions. It won't take long for motorist to change their behaviour when it starts costing money.
It is the principal who needs to initiate this. Afterall if the street is unsafe for cyclists, it is equally unsafe for school buses and people walking to school.
Wow, this situation is an embarrassment not only for that principal, but for the city involved (New Jersey?).
What ignorant idiots.
This story makes me want to sob. I'm facing an almost identical situation with my son's elementary school; the district (LAUSD) passed a measure that requires all new schools to have bike racks, but still allows principals to ignore their pro-bike intent by forbidding cycling -- even with parental escort. Since when is it a school's business to dictate the form of transportation used to get to and from school? That is the students' and parents' decision, and for the school to attempt to dictate transportation choices is draconian and overreaching. I'm depressed by this because I'm learning how widespread identical problems to the one that I'm facing are.
Nothing I read in that article said that the principle is not allowing the kids to bike to school. He just said he didn't want to promote cycling because of safety concerns. Under this logic he should also remove all student parking because that is promoting driving and we all know that driving is dangerous.
Furthermore does anyone know of a lawsuit where a high school was held liable for a student crashing their car off of school grounds? How would a bike be any different? The street closest to the school in the article might not be the best for bicycles and (impatient or late) teen-aged drivers but if they choose they could keep riding to school and locking their bikes on the lamp posts. Most traffic laws in this country say that bikes are only excluded from certain streets (usually highways, on ramps and bridges without shoulders) so a long as this street does not strictly prohibit bicycles they should be fine.
___________
Side note:
The middle school that I went to wouldn't allow my friend to walk literary across the road (with a sidewalk and crosswalk) to get to his house. Instead he was forced to either ride the bus in a giant 30 minute loop (he was the last stop) or risk detention and sneak home.
John T. great point but you left out one more example. If the school promotes driving a personal vehichle to school (by providing parking space) then wouldn't they be held liable if a kid got in an accident? How is this any different than providing a place to lock up your bike and then being held responsible for kids riding to school? And if they are being held liable for car accidents how can they afford it? When I was in high school there were only a couple of fatal accidents a year but fender benders, heck fender benders on school property, were an every to every other week occurence.
There's a big difference here, and that is that parents are used to their kids driving and riding the bus to school. If the principal does anything to promote alternative transportation methods and a kid is killed, he's automatically the hippie commie pinko who wants to kill our kids.
It is common knowledge that bicycling is unsafe. This isn't necessarly correct knowledge, but it is knowledge that everyone has. Especially parents. They would rather see their kids wrapped in a steel cage that out in the open, protected only by a flimsy foam helmet. It's the same reason they won't let their kids ride motorcycles to school.
I'm on your side on this. i want to see kids able to ride to school. I'm just pointing out what is obvious to anyone who interacts with non-greenies. They know that bicycling is unsafe, that cars and buses are safe, and that only pinko hippies ride bikes.
Of course, we're ignoring the fact that kids won't ride their bikes in the rain or the cold or the snow, and the buses will have to run anyway or their parents will have to drive them. The school district won't be saving any money by promoting bicycling.
my email
Dear Principal James Riccobono,
I support the students who would like to bike to school. I drove to school in high school and regret it. As an environmental consultant with Earth Tech, Inc. (daniel.sheehan at EarthTech dot com) and as a citizen who bikes or walks to work I find it appalling that your organization will not find ways to work with the students and local highway authorities to improve the transportation conditions.
The students clearly demonstrated excellence in their ability to organize and due diligence and I applaud your school district for educating the youth so that they exercise democracy and care about the environment.
They should attach motors to their bikes, like a leaf blower, chainsaw, or weedwacker. Thus making it a moped of sorts.
I'm amazed at how narrow-minded we are any more. I've read most of the comments on this subject and have derived one thing: we've become protestors instead of collaborators. Why is it the "in" thing to go headlong at "the establishment" with protests when you don't get your way? Anybody ever think of actually working together to solve an impass? I saw some mention of getting parents and the city involved. Sounds like that would be a better move than blaming the super for being a hard-nosed idiot. Consider the fact that the school doesn't own the streets, aren't "really" responsible for anything that happens off school property, nor can they alone control what the city does for street safety. That's what "citizens" are supposed to be doing....and, yeah, the school is a part of that process, but not by themselves. We need to stop thinking in terms of "someone else needs to fix the problem" and become a group of problem solvers, working together....and stop teaching our children to protest. Instead, show them how to become involved in the change and decision making process as active "supporters".
Well, this takes me back to late '60's / early 70's. Our collective eco-conscience had us riding our ten-speeds to wherever we needed to be in Memphis. I could be across town in less time than I could drive it. The traffic was awful...it's worst now!
Bicycling is part of the solution in the city. To disagree is to have a "frial grasp on the big picture". Encourage bicycling to school. It makes good sense. What are the safety issues. At my high school, there was three, three-story classroom buildings, only teacher parking and about 12 bike racks. They held twenty bikes each! They were all full on good weather days and mostly full on foul weather days.
Its not about students. Its not about education. It's not about safety. Its about demonstrating to the populace that they are not in control, are not significant, that their concerns go unheeded, they have no recourse, and will not be consulted in any way.
That is, it's an indoctrination in quietly accepting tyranny at every level without cause, guise, or explanation.
Wow, what a contrast. In the Netherlands it is very standard to cycle to school. Even children on ground schools cycle to school (if they don't live on walking distance.). First together with a parent, but from a fairly early age (about 9 years) they cycle in small groups, mostly together with some older children. But, as mentioned before, cyclists are not a marginal minority on the Dutch roads, so car drives take care. Because we had bicycles long before we had cars, the important role of cyclists in traffic is self-evident for us. In your country this position has to conquered, step-by-step. In this case I hope the students and the school board can together convince the authorities to make the road saver for children on bikes and on foot. Bikepaths, speedhumps, tunnels (for crossing the road), traffic lights: the possibilities are countless.
I live in this town and the roads around the school aren't safe for bike riding. The school lies between 3 major highways, right next to an office industrial park and all of the cars racing through the area in the morning are commuters trying to get to work.
I understand this Principal's concern for the safety of the students - this is why all of the students in the town are bused. With the exception of a few of the schools in our town, most of the schools are next to busy roads - not in neighborhoods. And the town continues to build and build and build.
I currently have 2 young children and I would be hesitant to let them bike to school unless there was no other form of transportation.