A group of concerned students on campus have stepped forward to create a new student organization, Hopeless Helmets, to combat one of Stanford’s most unacknowledged safety hazards. Club Founder and President Carl Muntz ’14 explains that the mission of the group is to eliminate the protective biking headgear once and for all, while educating the population on injuries that can result from these allegedly “safe” devices.
“I keep my helmet on a hook on my door, and I was really tired one night and I stumbled into the helmet head-on,” said Muntz in one of his illustrative anecdotes. “It’s amazing how much a helmet can hurt when you run into it.”
Indeed the club meeting, which had over three participants, was filled with those who sympathized with Muntz’s cause. A quick survey of those in attendance revealed a slew of similar traumatic incidents.
“Once I fell asleep with my helmet on and when I woke up the back of my head was a bit sore,” said Keven Russell ’16. “I really would like to prevent that from happening again.”
The group is planning to organize a pledge drive to see which dorm will go longest without wearing helmets. Muntz ended the evening by announcing that his influence had already begun to spread: according to Muntz, “over seventy-five percent of people on campus don’t wear helmets already.”
