LETTER: Positive Outlook

To the Editor: I have been amazed to see student quotes such as, "The new sytem is too complicated," "I am too confused by it to use it," "for the time they would spend figuring it out, they would just as soon walk," which I feel are really unreasonable. Come on guys, do we really want to say that students at this school are so uneducated that they can't figure out the Escort routes from the new leaflet, which I personally feel is really clear? Do guys here want a class where they want it covered in depth for an hour? Are these the same people who will be getting out into the real world in a few years time where they can bet, they will come across a lot more ambiguously presented material? I simply don't understand what the problem is here. I am an international student here and English is not my first language, and it took me all of 15 minutes of careful reading and two days of using the service to understand the change. Personally, I believe that the change has been an improvement. The vans are clearly marked, you can get off at corners without specifying an address (in case you want to get to a pizza joint) and, most importantly, a lot more students who live in Center City are covered. I have no doubt at all that if a proper survey were conducted of all users -- instead of listening to a few high-pitched whiners -- a majority would support the change. It is high time people started looking at things positively and regard the Escort Service as a privilege rather than as a right. R. BALACHANDRAN Wharton Ph.D. Student