The Badger Herald grossly missed the mark with their recent news article, “No more unlimited rides for SAFEwalkers” (Oct. 9, 2009).

The Associated Students of Madison did not just recently cut funds for SAFEwalkers to use SAFEcabs, as the article states. There was never supposed to be money for these unlimited rides in the first place, as ASM never granted an exception for this purpose.

The Bus Pass Advisory Committee noticed last winter that SAFEwalkers were overutilizing the emergency service and told Transportation Services that ASM would not fund these cab rides. Transportation Services initially covered the cost of the extra rides but recently discontinued this practice.

It has always been the intention of the Associated Students of Madison that the SAFEcab service should be used in emergency situations only. If it is the policy of SAFEwalk to guarantee unlimited free cabs for their employees, then it is the responsibility of Transportation Services, who manages the service, to pay for those cabs.

Although the facts that were presented in last week’s article may have been accurate, it was the facts that were omitted from the story that caused the article as a whole to be completely inaccurate. How could The Badger Herald report on an action supposedly taken by ASM without speaking to a single ASM representative? How did the editors let that get to print with such a glaring omission of perspective and then decide to put that above the fold of the front page?

ASM appreciates The Badger Herald’s interest in student safety and shares its concerns that safety should always be a priority on campus. However, we cannot afford unlimited cab rides for everybody and thus expect all students to be able to make arrangements when they know they are going to be working a late shift.

Ken Harris
ASM press office director
[email protected]