Students rode to class in style on Monday thanks to a mysterious act of kindness.
Two horse-drawn carriages, paid for by an anonymous sponsor, shuttled students from the South 40 to main campus between 9:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
“It’s the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life…it should happen every Monday,” said freshman Aaron Sidorov.
Affixed to each carriage was a sign that read, “It’s your turn,” a message that has appeared on signs all across campus during the past week. The message has also accompanied a box of toys left in front of the Women’s Building and flyers encouraging passersby to send kind words about their fellow students to [email protected].
Carriage driver Kristen Day said that Paragon Carriage Company received a call from a person who asked to remain anonymous requesting carriages for an event “to do something nice for someone else.” According to Day, she and her horse Sam enjoyed their day at Washington University.
“People didn’t want to believe it was free,” said Day. “We had to keep saying, ‘Come on, take a ride!’ The atmosphere here is really pretty and laid back. The people are friendly. It’s a great campus.”
Sophomore Rich Siegel, felt “kingly,” when he caught the last carriage back to the South 40.
“It’s a gorgeous day,” said Siegel. “This really adds to the beauty of life. Bio lab was awful, and now I get to take a ride home on a carriage.”