Old rules can save

The rules from elementary school still apply, and they can still keep us safe.

One of the first things we are taught in school is the buddy system. We are told that it is of the utmost importance when on field trips or crossing the street.

But it seems that upon our arrival in Athens, we clear out our minds to make room for all the ideas to be learned in lectures. We’re intelligent, and we can take care of ourselves. There’s no need for the buddy system.

We’ve fallen into the belief that we are invincible. We go out downtown to blow off some steam and lose track of the designated driver. We’ll be just fine if we wander off after a night of drinking or abandon our friends to find their own way home.

It’s easy for us to let our guard down and forget that the area of Athens that we occupy does not represent the city at large. We’re living in a bubble, protected by our own naivete and failing to realize that in spite of the education we are working towards, we don’t know everything.

We read the new stories and watch reports of tragedies that affect people who are similar to us. On the front page, a woman was abducted and assaulted when friends weren’t around. We hear this, but we would never let anything like that happen to us.

So let’s take a trip down memory lane: employ the buddy system so you know that you and your friends are safe.

- Megan Otto for the editorial board