Ball State suffers from a collective case of no-depth-perception that has resulted in insecure pedestrians that push the scramble light button for no apparent reason.
Granted, the intersection at McKinley and Riverside avenues is a busy one, especially during the day. But stopping all lanes of traffic so you can cross the street at 10 p.m. is absolutely unnecessary.
I know you are probably thinking that I am some impatient motorist with a lead foot and a short fuse. But that is only a small part of it.
When you choose to push the button for no reason, you expose your fellow pedestrians to the scorn and contempt of everyone waiting in cars.
I hate it when someone pushes the button and then crosses the street before the lights turn red.
I despise this act for two reasons.
First of all, it's stupid.
Second, I am always stuck about 10 paces behind the perpetrator. By the time I get to the light, the birds are chirping, the evil button pusher is halfway to Riverside, and I am left alone to absorb the hateful looks of drivers.
Crossing the street at times like these is so embarrassing. I want to scream my innocence to the motorists.
But instead I just walk with my head down in misplaced shame. Occasionally I will give a sheepish wave. The kind you give when you cut someone off in a car and want to convey to the offended that while you may be a bad driver, you are not a bad person.
Now back to the fact that I am a lead-footed, impatient driver. Nothing annoys me more than sitting motionless at the light as the birds chirp to noone but me. And it always happens that the other light turns green before mine does.
So many people have grown too accustomed to the comfort of the scramble light. It is a crutch that is taught to us at orientation.
I can hear the incoming freshmen now.
"Hey, screw that 'look both ways before crossing' crap. All we got to do is push the light, listen for the chirp and we can cross the street doing back-hand springs blindfolded if we want to."
I don't know what it is. But as a university, we must break ourselves of this annoying habit. Those lights are there for big crowds and disabled students.
Next time you catch yourself at the scramble light, try crossing the street before you push the button (what a revolutionary idea).
And if you are trying to cross diagonally, cross one street and then cross the other. It is simple geometry.
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