Okay, so this past week, I came back from an overnight bus trip my theater club and a few other students from college took to go see a Broadway Play. The next day, we were given a few hours to explore New York, with a definite time limit on when the bus would be leaving. Long story short, two guys were over twenty five minutes late to get back when they KNEW we couldn’t stay there for long, and we had to leave without them. Of course, jsut about everyone else starts moaning about how we shouldn’t leave them in new York alone and shit. I didn’t really care, myself, I thought they deserved it. which apparently made me a heartless monster. So, I guess the question is, would YOU leave someone alone in new York like that? (I’d like to point out a little before the bus left, we got a call from one of them saying they were on their way, and wasn;t worried because he knew the bus wouldn’t leave without him.)
If they missed the bus, they missed the bus. They’re adults. They can find a 24-hour McDonalds and hang out till their parents (or whoever) pick them up next morning. Manhattan’s pretty safe these days.
I guess I’d sympathize if no one was available to pick them up. I assume they’d have to take a train. But the difficulties and costs of getting home don’t shift the blame to a bus that was compelled for business reasons to leave on time. Their irresponsibility shouldn’t come out of the bus company’s profits.
Plus as you said they have cell phones. They frankly can call up anyone they know to pick them up. Hailing a cab would also be acceptable.
A quick clarification for those that don’t know: the bus ride was over six hours from upstate new york, to NYC. And apparently, they’d gotten lost trying to take the subway, hence why they were late.
Perhaps they shouldn’t be wandering New York on a tight time schedule if they can’t properly navigate themselves through a subway system. ::doh::
A six hour bus ride is pretty brutal, but it sounds like they understood the consequences, assuming this is a post-secondary course. Like I said, you shouldn’t be exploring a city on your own if you have to be back at a certain time if you have navigation problems.
Since my brother and two teammates were left behind at a swim meet when someone didn’t check the locker rooms (and since I wasn’t there to remind the bizatch of a coach that they weren’t on the bus), I’m normally harsher on leaving people behind. This was in high school, and they were 14-15 years old.
However, working under the assumption that you’re talking about college students who have apparently been trusted to leave home, no, I don’t think it’s harsh. They’re “adults” with cell phones. I might be a little softer if it had been just one student, but it wasn’t.
I guess it depends on the bus arrangements. Though IME the rendezvous is usually set a quarter/20 min before you have to go, to account for late-comers, late-shoppers, late-WC-goers and the like.
No child should get left behind… but these are not children and therefore got what they deserved.
Needless to say… from what I have seen from american news reports on the subject… children are getting left behind school-wise now more than ever.
Depends on why they were late. That probably would have been impossible for you to know, though. I probalby wouldn’t have left them if it was my call.
As I said before, they tried taking the subway in new York City, when they had to be back at a designated spot preferably before 4:00. I’m sure even residents of new Yorek City can tell you the subway can be chancy sometimes. and I don;t think these guys had any ideas what they were doing.
As a note, they made it back safely the day after we left. half a dozen other students, the ones I had to listen bitch about this, set up an elaborate plan over their cell phones to have a third party pay for their tickets home, or something.
Yeah, they got what they deserved. First off, I know the subway isn’t very reliable. Neither is the Metro. You’re almost as reliable walking from point A to point B in a place like NYC where it’s so clusterfucked you can’t breathe without pissing somebody off. As for Manhattan being safe, it’s all a matter of where you’re location in Manhattan happens to be. Midtown is pretty safe, but Harlem…well… not so much.