Cosgrove Warns Students of Safety Hazards

Earbud sporting cyclists and text-messaging crosswalkers were the target of an email sent last Thursday from Dean of Residential Affairs AJ Cosgrove. Citing multiple reports from the community about students not looking both ways before they cross the street, Dean Cosgrove cautioned students to observe basic traffic safety rules and common sense practices.“Generally speaking, the reports are all related to careless and potentially dangerous behavior while riding bicycles, skateboards, scooters, longboards or simply crossing the street,” Cosgrove wrote.Cosgrove summarized the basic guidelines of street etiquette, drawing on students’ repeated negligence of these laws. Students were informed in the email to walk in the crosswalks at all times when crossing Main Street, Front Street and Court Street, and to commit to “a distraction-free zone” when coming in contact with oncoming traffic.Students had mixed opinions on the necessity of Cosgrove’s email to students. Lower Nick Madamidola believed that the email served as a valuable note to the student body. “People tend to forget, so it’s good to be reminded once in a while,” Madamidola said. “I don’t think it’s that the whole school doesn’t follow the rules, but it’s just that a few students who forget occasionally are the ones who could potentially get hurt and need reminders.”On the other hand, prep Philip Kuhn said that the email was not very effective. “I think the email was a bit unnecessary; I don’t think anybody is going to listen to it at all,” he said. “In fact, I have already seen a lot of people break the rules.”Upper Sabrina Movitz has experienced the carelessness of students traveling by means other than foot, serving as an advocate for Cosgrove’s notice.Walking to class between Abbot and the Academy Building, Movitz was caught in the danger of students who needed to be more “aware of [their] actions,” as Cosgrove wrote. “I was talking to another student, but all of a sudden this boy, whom I’ve never met, came zooming down the crowded hill and crashed into me. He fell off his RipStik, picked it up and walked away,” she said. “He never apologized and I went to class a little shaken. I found out later, when I went to get my laptop for another class, that he had dented the aluminum.”Although safety issues serve as a constant problem on campus, a significant amount of complaints were received in an extraordinarily short period of time, according to Cosgrove.“Safety issues come up every year. I sent out the email because I wanted to do something about the problem,” he said. “In the past, we have mentioned it at Assembly. Next year, this is probably an issue that I’ll ask advisers to discuss with advisees at the beginning of the year during the weekly advising meeting.”Students’ lack of awareness not only puts their own lives in danger, but also affects the entire town of Exeter. A town firefighter and paramedic relayed his concern to Cosgrove: “About once or twice per week we (ambulance) come close to running down PEA students who walk out into the crosswalk with headphones on during rescue calls.”Faculty were generally in support of Cosgrove’s email to students, agreeing that it was a necessary affair that needed to be addressed. “I agree with Dean Cosgrove 100 percent. I think the email was a wise move on the administration’s part,” Student Services and Day Student Coordinator Jan Trueman said. “Students here are sometimes really reckless about crossing the streets, and that can be dangerous.”“After I sent the email out to faculty, I received about 20 responses from faculty members thanking me because they had either almost hit someone in a car or seen someone come close to getting hit,” Cosgrove said.Cosgrove also addressed the rule that students must walk across the street and may not ride any kind of transportation with wheels in the crosswalk. “Getting off a bike and walking it across the street doesn’t feel natural,” he said. “Hopefully, the conversation that my email generated will at least slow these riders down, get them to look both ways and think about the consequences of their actions.”