Six students biked campus streets late Friday afternoon to make cars and pedestrians more aware of the what they call the bicycle presence at the University.
Their demonstration, dubbed Critical Mass, is designed to unite bikers and utilize environmentally friendly transportation in car-filled streets.
Molse Sohen, a mathematics graduate student, said the Critical Mass idea originated in China. If there are too many people waiting to cross at an intersection, as the crowd grows increasingly dense, it eventually spills over into the street — forcing cars to stop for pedestrians.
Sohen said if enough people ride their bikes in the streets, eventually cars will have to take notice.
Critical Mass, a worldwide movement, has more than 213 individual rides across North America alone, and 252 more throughout the world each month.
Although riders have been participating in Critical Mass for a few years at the University, none of the six students who participated on Friday had ever ridden together in Baton Rouge.
Some riders said they rode in Critical Mass at other universities or received an e-mail about Critical Mass through the University’s Student Environmental Action Coalition.
Bruce Lin, a computer science graduate student, said the University’s campus is fairly easy to navigate on a bike, but he said there are a couple of intersections that make it difficult.
“Recreationally, this is biker friendly,” Lin said
But trying to use a bicycle as transportation can be harder.
Sohen said the signs in the Quad forbidding students from riding their bikes are pointless because bike racks are placed all over the Quad.
Sohen said the University needs to take measures — like developing more bike paths — to make the campus more conducive to biking.
The University’s Master Plan includes more bike and pedestrian paths. In September, Facility Services opened 2.5 miles of new paths around campus.
Facility Services is also building bike paths on Gourier Lane and River Road. The River Road path will connect the University at Skip Bertman Drive to downtown Baton Rouge alongside the MIssissippi River.
Stacie Hebert, a part-time student and computer analyst in Middleton Library, said environmentally friendly transportation is important, so she bikes from her home in Tigerland to campus every day.
Although Hebert said campus is not hard to get around on a bicycle, she said some areas outside of campus — such as the bike path on Nicholson Drive, need more lighting.
“All I have is this little light,” Hebert said, pointing to a small spotlight mounted on the handlebars of her red bike. “Sometimes at night, I ride home, and I can’t see the potholes. What happens if I hit a bad one?”
One rider, Jesse George, a philosophy senior, said he bikes to school every day from his State Street apartment. He said the only time he drives a car is to work at Ninfa’s on College Drive.
Critical Mass rides the first Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. Riders meet in front of the Memorial Tower.