Grandstanding or problem solving?

I will let the people decide if it is grandstanding or real problem solving when it comes to Mr. Herman Guerrero. I used to write long letters because some people couldn’t read between the lines and connect the dots; Mr. Guerrero appears to be just such a case. I made a simple suggestion and now Mr. Guerrero wants to make a mountain out of a molehill. My suggestion for metal seats did not mean bare metal. I’m sure there would have been safety padding required but not covers, which is what is being torn up. There are also other materials used for seats on public buses in every major city today and they meet the safety requirements. It doesn’t take any research to know we need to change the type of seats we are using after all these years. This is not the first time we have had to come up with some thousands to repair the bus seats.

Mr. Guerrero, you never use your travel money, so donating it was no big thing because it usually goes untouched. You gave away money that already belonged to PSS. I would like to see you donate some of your own hard earned money and then you will have really done something to deserve a picture in the news.

But what is most interesting is the problem that caused the vandalism still has not been addressed or resolved and we don’t have to be an etiologist to know why. From what I read, the only thing that was done about the vandalism was the old “passing of the buck” to the parents and the community to help. The problem is primarily the betel nut chewing and a lack of education on proper etiquette when chewing. These are our buses, our students, they are our responsibility, and the problem is OURS—not the parents. We are in the business of educating, so why don’t we start an educational program for bus riders and provide them the proper necessities for chewing to eliminate the filth and destruction of the seat covers. I know, this is thinking outside the box, braking the paradigm and going against the status quo, which appears to be over Mr. Guerrero’s head, but I was glad to see that Dr. Borja was able to read between the lines and connect the dots because he is going to seriously consider my suggestion about changing the types of seats we order for the buses in the future.

While I’m on the subject of etiquette, betel nut is not a “banned” substance on the Federal list and we would do well to take advantage of this exception. We are always asking for the feds for exceptions when we are asking for their money—so why not use this to our advantage. Betel nut is not only a problem with the buses; it’s a problem at the schools, especially the junior and high schools. By placing an utt or two on these campuses for students to chew and by placing paper cup dispensers and trash cans on the buses, coupled with some education and new practices, the problem should be resolved.

There should also be a seating chart for the buses so the driver can identify who might have done what. We also need to train some of the bus drivers on how to deal with these students and offer them some support. There are all kinds of things we can do to end this problem but some people will never change, even though the world and the CNMI is changing right in front of their faces. One people, one direction.

Ambrose Bennett
Teacher Representative
Kagman High School