Monday morning on my way to class, I had a very close encounter with the Red Cedar River. The Brody path that I - and the majority of people living in the Brody Complex - use to get to class was flooded over. However, there was an ice path that looked stable, so I ventured across, only to have the ice collapse beneath my feet and the nasty E. coli-infested Red Cedar River come up around me.

Luckily, there was a fence nearby, which I grabbed onto for dear life. I was in the water for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, asking for help from one of the many spectators.

My legs were beginning to numb, and I was having a lot of difficulty moving them. I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to the young man who raced into that nasty river and dragged me out of it. I am only sorry I did not get his name or a chance to thank him in person.

As for the river, stay out of it. Maybe the university should block off flooded-over paths and alert students to unpassable areas on campus.

Oh, and it might be nice if they brought down the E. coli levels in the Red Cedar, too.

Amanda Smith
Spanish sophomore