By Ava Bostock, freelance reporter
As a perpetually tired and overworked high school student who has been commuting for almost six years, I crave any moment of tranquility that I can get. I used to look forward to riding the boat back to Seattle after an exhausting day at school.
Getting on the ferry felt like arriving in a sanctuary — the boat was somewhere I could sit down, relax and unwind for 20 minutes before having to face responsibilities at home like studying, work and chores.
Or at least it felt like that until now.
At the beginning of this school year, the Washington State Ferries (WSF) implemented a new policy stating that “student ferry commuters must commit to remain seated together in the designated area in the bow (#1 end) of the vessel while the vessel is en route to its destination.”
In theory, this change doesn’t seem too terrible. In reality, it is not only a huge inconvenience for students, but it is also completely unnecessary.
WSF has said that this new guideline is in place for students’ safety, but as to how sitting in the bow is safer than sitting where we would like, is a question I do not know the answer to. As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing inherently more risky about having students sit in a designated area verses on the other, completely identical but opposite end of the vessel.
Although I acknowledge the fact that some commuter students — especially those in younger grades — can be loud and slightly disruptive, they are definitely not dangerous or threatening to the safety of the ferries or other passengers.
Controlling where we sit has had absolutely zero impact on their tendencies and, if anything, has increased noise levels due to the fact that almost 200 students are now forced to sit together.
Even if a student commuter were to somehow compromise the safety of the boat — which is highly unlikely considering there is a ferry monitor on board with us as well as the usual security cameras found on every vessel, it would make a more sense to deal with the individual in question on a personal level, as any other ferry passenger would be dealt with, rather than by punishing those of us who sit in peace and use our commute to do homework and socialize.
As a WSF customer and as a Vashon High School student that pays to ride the boat every morning, I just can’t accept the fact that half of the ferry is completely off limits to me.
This is especially frustrating not only because I, along with the majority of students, am not a problem, but also because non-commuting students ride the boat they are allowed to sit wherever they want.
There are ways in which WSF could better manage students who cause problems during the commute, for example by directly telling students how they expect us to behave at the beginning of the year, or by holding a community discussion to get feedback from both kids and parents. The current policy is unnecessary and the issue could easily be resolved with communication from both sides.