Federal budget cuts will mean some tough decisions for Cy-Ride officials and those agencies that supplement its funding.

If the proposed budget passes, all federal Cy-Ride funding could be eliminated within six years, meaning students will have to cough up more money through their student fees or face a reduction in services.

Government of the Student Body President Dan Mangan and David Schoof, GSB’s director of traffic and transport, said at an open forum last week that student leaders are looking for a compromise between allocating more money to Cy-Ride and cutting services.

First in the cutting line is apparently Cy-Ride’s Moonlight Express service. Moonlight Express provides free rides Friday and Saturday nights from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., mainly for Iowa State students who have spent an evening at the bars or a party.

Maybe there isn’t enough money to continue the service, which admittedly attracts a small, sometimes inebriated crowd. That’s fine. The university will survive without it.

But Mangan’s reasoning for wanting Moonlight Express dropped is troubling.

“Ferrying around drunk people is a low priority,” he said at the forum. “How much should we ask students to pay for people who are irresponsible enough to go out and get themselves drunk and not have a ride home?”

What defines responsibility? Certainly trying to drive yourself home after a night of drinking is irresponsible. Is hopping a bus, admitting your too drunk to drive irresponsible as well? No.

Utilizing Cy-Ride’s Moonlight Express service is the responsible thing for many ISU students. Condemn them for being so drunk that they need the Moonlight Express, but don’t condemn them for using it.