By Chris Cerrato

In response to the Feb. 2 issue’s “All Hail” (“Massachusetts Bay Transportation Aw-crap-I-missed-it-Authority) the first thing that came to my mind was “What a whiny drama queen.” I also travel to campus via the Franklin Line from Norfolk (and have been doing so since freshman year) and although I’m not jumping for joy during my hour-long journey to campus, I’d restrain myself from going on in such an immature manner as Dinah Alobeid has done.

Dinah, there are a few factors you should take into consideration. First, the commute to Ruggles Station from your town is less than a half hour. Numerous students who live in the city have a longer commute to campus. Furthermore, they have to ride on the subway, where there are hardly ever any seats, let alone room to stand. I was baffled when I read your claim about how there are no seats on the 9 a.m. train. I take that train every day, and there are always seats when we get to your stop. You may have to sit next to someone. I know, it can be a pretty frightening experience.

You describe your commute as consisting of “standing in a hot, sweaty, dirty train compartment with annoying toddlers running around” alongside “unfriendly” commuters. Yeah, I guess I’ll have to agree with you on that last part — nobody ever wants to hug me back when I try to get affectionate with those cold-hearted commuters, either. More so, I hear that children have a civil right to ride the commuter rail these days as well. They pay less, of course.

Concerning your bitterness toward the train “never being on time,” your claims are not fully accurate. Yes, the MBTA was doing construction on the rails around noon during the autumn months. The conductors notified us the 10:45 a.m. train would be 10-15 minutes late into Boston until construction ended (which it did, in November of last year). I merely took an earlier train during that time, as you did, and I did my homework or went to the gym. No sweat. Well … except at the gym, that is. The trains are always on schedule, except for a few exceptions due to inclement weather, naturally.

There’s no need to blow up in complaints, Dinah. It’s called public transportation. Your expectations seem unreasonably high. Would you rather wait for a filthy, packed subway train (crowded with all kinds of people who you know you want to avoid rubbing up against), or would you rather sit on a leather-covered seat on the commuter train during your smooth, 25-minute ride, where you could take a quick nap or read a book?

– Chris Cerrato is a middler graphic design major.