“Everyone does it”: The motto that broke the line
What if someone unfamiliar with BracU walked up to the bus line and saw only bags standing in order, no students, just placeholders? The bus queue has turned into a quiet battlefield of convenience, while there are bags claiming seats and latecomers sliding theirs in between like it’s an unspoken rule. Some argue it’s a survival tactic after all; who wants to stand for a two-hour bus ride? The irony? The rule itself doesn’t exist. What began as harmless has now evolved into a culture of entitlement where one punishes those who follow the system and rewards those who bend it.
Despite the everyday silent wars over seats, many students find taking the BracU bus a safer option. And for that peace of mind, they’re willing to reserve their rides hours earlier. As Jahrun Aranee (Junior, MNS) often keeps her bag in the bus lane and attends classes, she finds it unfair when someone switches places with her bag. Maisha Salim (Senior, ENH) believes, “A system could be introduced for the bus lines, a QR code system, where people could scan and reserve seats.”
Masruba Tasneem (Junior, MNS) often sees students dragging along their friends for a single spot, which sparks arguments. Some reserve the 5 pm bus seats well before 11 am, and some don’t even drop their bags in the class first; they drop them straight into the bus lane.
“Everyone does it” has become a free pass for disorder. When students spend two hours standing on a bus while six phantom bags ride comfortably, maybe the system isn’t the only thing that’s broken. BracU must review its transport policies to ensure order and fairness, not convenience and chaos. It’s rather curious how quickly, during a national crisis, the university can suspend bus services, almost as if the crisis only affects the buses, not the students who ride them. By halting transport yet insisting that classes continue, BracU seems to suggest that the wheels of education must turn, even if the students have to walk through uncertainty to keep them moving.
