I am writing to you in response to your recent "Door-button laziness wastes money" article (Nov. 16).
After reading the article I felt not satisfied, but distraught. I believe the true meaning behind the point of the article was missed. Sure, UB is losing money from the countless lazy kids using the button, which will keep the door open far after they have crossed the threshold, but this is not the greatest problem. What will happen when the kid in the wheelchair cruises up to a button that is a dud? The pupil will press the button to find out it is out of service.
What then? Perhaps he or she will try to open the door manually; perhaps another student will be kind enough to open the door for them. But what if they are studying late on a Saturday night when most students are out or in their dorm rooms, with no one to help them perhaps they will try to open the door themselves. What will happen when the student falls to the ground out of their wheel chair? I am fairly sure that most students that have a heart will feel awful.
To everyone who uses these buttons when it is not necessary, I leave you with this: picture the student in the wheelchair crawling to the door, desperately trying to reach the handle to open their way to education.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
