Not All Fun and Games: Bus Hits Student During Foam Sword Fight
A lighthearted campus ritual turned serious this afternoon when a UT student was injured by a CapMetro bus that plowed through a red light.
The student was one of several hundred participating in Foam Sword Friday, a student-run event sponsored by the Undergraduate Architecture Student Council on the last day of classes. Graduate students in architecture started the event 6 years ago.
“We think it’s very unfortunate that it happened, and we’re happy that he is OK and that it wasn’t his fault,” says Vikki Benefiel, financial director for the the student council.
On the last day of classes every semester, students gather at the Co-op crosswalk on Guadalupe Street. Whenever the light turns red, they storm the street, shouting “Texas! Fight!” and brandishing foam swords. Just 30 seconds later, when the light turns green, they return to the sidewalk.
A harrowing video shows the student, who was wearing a mask, being slammed and thrown by the bus.
Police spokeswoman Vanessa Aguinaga told the Austin American-Statesman that the student suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. David’s Medical Center. The bus driver received a citation for running a red light, the spokeswoman told the Statesman.
With reporting by Gracie Fraser, Jordan Schraeder, and Rose Cahalan.
Photo by Jeff Heimsath.
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