We bet you thought you were done taking a school bus to school after middle school. Well, the good news is that the bus you could potentially be taking to your seminar next year won’t be yellow ‘ it’ll be blue.

What in Lois’ name are we talking about? There’s a mighty good chance that by next year, a number of Binghamton University seminars will be held in Downtown Binghamton, in the new Downtown Center (see Page 1).

Now, if you’re anything like us (hopefully you’re much cooler, but hey, there’s a chance we can relate), this news sent you through a range of confusing and emotional reactions.

First we were happy ‘ some of us even overjoyed. This could be the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap that exists between the scenic city of Binghamton and the University. The new Downtown Center has the potential to make the University a real integral part of the area, rather than just the annoying Vestal Parkway traffic obstruction we’re usually seen as.

Not to mention the opportunity it would give students to see a bit of the area they’re to inhabit for four years ‘ but during daylight hours and without beer goggles for a change. We’re not claiming this is Manhattan, or hell, even Syracuse, but there are some worthy sights in this fair city.

But after our initial elation, we realized the potential downside to this new plan.

Maybe we’re just too spoiled by the convenience that our quaint little campus offers us now, but think about all the time that traveling Downtown for one class in the middle of the day could take.

The University has already acknowledged that anyone taking a seminar Downtown wouldn’t be able to take a class slotted directly before or after the seminar, which seems reasonable. But what if one of your mandated major requirements is slotted too close to a seminar that interests you, or one that too is a major requirement? Do you forfeit the chance to take one class because it’s Downtown, or do you risk waiting on taking the required class?

And seminars, which usually come but once a week, are heavily attendance-based. If you happen to miss the bus Downtown, do you lose critical attendance points for being late or absent? Will professors actually start accepting the excuse of, ‘Sorry, I missed the bus today’? We’re betting dollars to pesos that it won’t fly (after all, it didn’t work in middle school either).

Basically, this comes down to the same catch that all of BU’s other plans seem to have. This has the potential to be a really great thing, for the students, the University and the city ‘ but only if the University pays attention to the details and logistics and thinks about how every angle will affect students.

So, BU, take note now: If you want this to work, it can’t be a half-assed attempt, or one which doesn’t sufficiently accommodate student views. This plan will affect us every day, a lot more than it affects administrators.