No Moral Principle Allows Bikers to Ride on the Sidewalk

I read Sarah J. Schaffer's call to action in the November 2 Dartboard ("Gandhi On a Mountain Bike") with great interest. It seemed that she would join such luminaries as Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King in opposing some great injustice. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the moral principle she upheld was the right to ride down pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Ms. Schaffer states that she "...would rather have a bicyclist hit a pedestrian than a car hit a bicyclist." I must confess that I have only received one year of Harvard's fine education, but I believe that is what is known as a "false dilemma." Nonetheless, Ms. Schaffer is compelled to make this agonizing choice because the seven minutes required to cross Harvard Yard on foot is "...to much for most Harvard students to sacrifice." Apparently a few minutes of time in the interests of public safety constitutes an unconscionable infringement of right, but injuries sustained under the wheels of a cyclist equates to the citizen's contribution to a just society.

Finally, in response to Ms. Schaffer's question, "Have you ever tried to bike through Harvard Square on the street?" I answer, "Yes, daily." When the traffic becomes too heavy, I walk, thus sparing myself her "kill-or-be-killed" dilemma. --Wade Markel   GSAS, Dept. of History