A world of robots

Jason Becker

As a new student at Iowa State, I just assumed that the Department of Public Safety was present on campus for the protection and guidance of the students. I also assumed the patrol officers of DPS would be helpful and understanding students. I soon out that’s not the case!

Recently, I was proceeding east down Lincoln Way when I approached the intersection near Maple-Willow-Larch. As I neared the intersection, the light turned yellow. The vehicle I was driving was a 5- speed truck. I was in third gear when I saw the light turn yellow. I was just about to enter the intersection and realized that I would not be able to downshift and stop in time.

If I would have tried, I would have stopped in the middle of the intersection. My only choice was to try to make it through the intersection. As I neared the end of the intersection, the light turned red above me. Of course, there was a DPS officer at the corner. He immediately flipped on his lights, and soon I was stopped.

To be honest, I have never been pulled over before, so I was quite nervous. As he approached the car, I removed my seatbelt and proceeded to get ready to talk to the officer.

He came up and the first thing out of his mouth was, “Were you wearing your seatbelt?” Maybe if he would have been watching, he would have seen that I took it off just before he approached the car. In that situation, someone may have pulled a weapon, and he would have never known. What would he have done then, pulled his flashlight? I doubt it.

He asked me for my license and proceeded to his car without another word, then returned with the $41 dollar ticket and said I had to sign in two places. He never made any conversation, asked what my story was, or took into account that I had never been in an accident or even pulled over before. He never acted as if he was looking out for the common good of me and other students.

Obviously he was required by law to say those few words he did say, because I believe that he must be anti-social. A little understanding would be appreciated from someone who is supposed to be serving the students. This man showed no sympathy, understanding or personable qualities.

In closing, I now believe what everyone in the computer industry is saying is true. Robots will soon be involved in every aspect of life; it just happened at DPS before anything else.


Jason Becker

Freshman

Pre-Business