Marist Students Are Terrorizing Poughkeepsie Residents

Maybe not everyone, but definitely me.

Do you know how old and cranky I feel writing this article? Trust me, that is not lost on me. I know I sound like the old man telling kids to get off my lawn. But I don't even hate Marist students. I don't even want them to leave! I just want them to follow basic traffic rules.

For those who aren't aware, Marist graduation was this past weekend. Now, this week is the unofficial senior week. Where those who graduated celebrate all week and party. In normal times, Marist College would host events. But due to COVID, the school canceled the festivities and now students are going rogue off-campus. By going rogue I mean throwing parties, drinking all day, and not following basic traffic rules.

Why do I keep mentioning basic traffic rules? BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW THEM. I live in Poughkeepsie and drive to work in Poughkeepsie past Marist College five days a week So that's 10 times I'm driving past the college each week, and sometimes more if I have errands or pick up lunch. And up until this week, the students obeyed traffic laws. But now? These students are swarming the streets and crossing whenever and wherever they want.

Just today, Wednesday, June 2, 2021, when I was leaving the station I got stuck in a traffic jam caused by roughly 30 Marist students crossing in the middle of the road. They were not in a crosswalk and they were not even looking for cars coming. Two taxis then pulled up basically on the sidewalk and cars tried to maneuver around the taxis and students. Of course, no one wants to run over someone so we all just sat and waited for a good five minutes. And these students just kept coming and crossing the road.

So please, students and seniors of Marist, I beg that you can cross the road like a decent person. That's literally all I want. Because this is just getting ridiculous.