The trouble with quarries

Walter G. Ayala, a teen from Washington, Ind., planned on having a good time with some friends when he came to visit Bloomington. And although they chose to go quarry jumping, a clearly dangerous activity, one might argue that they were more safety-conscious than some, since they chose to leave alcohol out of their recreation.\nBut jumping off multi-story cliffs presents serious risks, regardless of sobriety. What Ayala’s story reinforces to us is that, no matter how one attempts it, quarry-jumping is inherently dangerous. This danger put a tragic end to their fun when Ayala hit the water face first and died from the trauma of the impact.\nActing upon this desire to neutralize the quarries’ danger, some have proposed that Monroe County require that its 7,000-plus acres of mining operations be sealed over. These quarries are presently abandoned, and while guarded by a security company, oftentimes teens are able to sneak in. However, the Editorial Board believes that filling in the quarries is not an adequate response to the need for increased safety. \nWhen a community faces the horror of a serious tragedy, it naturally tries to prevent something so awful from ever happening again. Just as we learn to avoid touching a hot stove after we burn ourselves, good communities try to learn from their mistakes so they will be able to promise their citizens a safer future. However, even if the impractical were undertaken and every abandoned quarry was sealed, this hilly region of Southern Indiana contains any number of rugged landscapes that, when not used responsibly, could equally provide the thrill of danger. Closing the quarries will not end teens’ love affair with taking risks; they will merely take them elsewhere.\nIt’s also aesthetically inadvisable to close every one of this region’s dangerous landscapes. With its beautiful natural formations, Brown County State Park is but a single example of an environment worth preserving even though some may find misfortune if they test its limits. The quarries have a similar value. They are a beautiful, if treacherous, record of an era in which the Indiana limestone industry provided raw materials for monuments including the United States Supreme Court and the Empire State Building.\nThe quarries have existed for decades of IU’s existence, and have always played some role in IU mythology. In the ’70s, the quarries were a place for students to hang out, listen to music and drink. Few if any actually jumped from the “rooftop” portion (the highest point). In recent years, people have taken to using the site for dangerous feats, until someone dies and people stay away until the lesson is forgotten. Considering how often Bloomington goes through this tragedy, there’s reason to believe we haven’t mounted an effective campaign to warn people about the quarries. This is a step that should surely be undertaken. But Bloomington can’t neutralize every danger, only let people know what dangers exist and warn them accordingly. The rest is up to individual decision.