Kerry Evans
OP Contributor

The law states that a vehicle must wait until
pedestrians have crossed the entire street
before they can drive through the intersec-
tion. Never have I sworn and used the middle
finger so much as when I cross on 8th street
and Royal Avenue. The drivers don’t even give
a care. I yell and scream while shaking my
head and flailing my arms but still nothing.
They just drive away.

I have to walk
from Douglas College
to John Robson
Elementary (which are
kitty-corner to each
other on 8th and
Royal) twice a day to
take my daughter to
Grade One. At least
once a day we are
almost clipped by a car.
Most times we are
forced to sprint across
the street before the car
rolls right over us. The
elementary school has a
crossing guard up at
the corner of Queens and 8th, but that isn’t
where the big problem is.

What do you think would happen if one of
those “in such a hurry” cars wrapped around
the corner before we finished crossing and my
daughter dropped a piece of paper or bent
down to tie her shoelace? That’s right—we
would become part of the road. Why are the
cars in such a rush that they can’t wait 20 sec-

What's With
the Secrecy?

Kerry Evans
OP Contributor

   
    

*

DIRECT LINE
| TO STUDENT |
| SERVICES

   
 
    
   

  

BRANCH.IN
VICTORIA

 

onds for us to reach the other side?

I have thought long and hard about how I
can solve this problem. I could buy a car and
then become just like them or I could really
obsess over the situation. I am opting for the
latter. My plan is to write down all the license
plate numbers of the cars that don’t wait for
me to finish crossing and then I will report
them all to the police
department until some-
thing is done about it. I
am sure that they will
get sick of my calls and
either charge me with
harassment or do some-
thing. They are crack-
ing down on street rac-
ing so why not on the
pedestrian predators?

If you are one of the
impatient drivers you
should really _ start
thinking twice about
forcing me off the road
because I am really
pissed off. Wait the few
seconds for me to go sidewalk to sidewalk
with my child. Really, I have to explain every
day to my six-year-old why drivers are too
mindless to wait for us to make it across. I
also have to apologize for my excessive use of
profanities. You see, your bad behaviour has
led to more bad behaviour. I plead that you
slow down and wait, or I am going to start

  

and that bike you passed
on to your little sister?

Recycle life...

register

  

 

remember that shirt you passed
on to your little brother?

 

to be an
organ donor

British Columbia
Transplant Society

 

tice ee ESL R LLL,

www.transplant.bc.ca
604-877-2240

 

carrying eggs with me.

Semester after semester the Victoria
office of the student loans branch
have screwed me over. The last five
semesters have been so delayed that
sometimes I haven't received my
grant and loan until the third month
of the semester. Guess what they say
when I call them? They can’t give me
that information over the phone. Do
they want me to come over on the
ferry. and pay them a visit? Break
some bread perhaps? I give them my
SIN, my address, my phone num-
bers, excessive and explicit informa-
tion about my file and situation
(which only I would know) and they
still give me the old “I’m sorry
ma'am,” speech.

You're sorry for what? Sorry for not
giving me my money on time or
sorry for being so rude to me when |
call you requesting information?
Neither, is my guess. One woman
had me in such frenzy by telling me
that I wouldn’t receive any money for
at least three to five weeks. I asked
her what she expected me to do in

the meantime and she basically told
me that I wasn’t really that bad off.
That I should just call my landlord
and explain. I asked her how I
should explain to my six-year-old
that she would have no food for the
next month. The woman expressed
her opinion that she felt I was exag-
gerating and that I was lucky that at
least my money was on the way.

If it weren't for Karen in the
Financial Aid office at Douglas
College, I would have either dropped
out of school or sent some anthrax
over to those hags in Victoria. My
guardian angel is the only reason that
I ever receive my money at all. She
has gone above and beyond the call
of duty to help me every semester.
But back off, she’s all mine. The
whole office thinks I can win a prize
for how many letters the Victoria
office has sent me. I have them all
still, probably 500—one day they
will come in handy.

But really, why should I be forced
to go through this hassle every

semester? I do the right things, I fill
out my forms and I send them away
on time. I call Victoria to see if their
offices have received them and to
ensure that we don’t have any prob-
lems. And they have no problem giv-
ing me information and letting me
know that everything is A-okay and
right on schedule. But then when
crunch time arrives their lips are
sealed.

I have contacted MLAs and school
officials, but no one seems interested
enough to get involved. So I'll write
this article and I'll send it to Victoria
(I was kidding about the anthrax)
with my next student loan applica-
tion so they know that people are
talking. Only a matter of time stands
between chaos and order. They have
many problems within their govern-
ment organization, but that should-
nt be my problem. Don't even get
me started on how I’m expected to
live on the meagre amount of money
I actually receive. Changes need to
be made. Changes will be made.

 

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