On Thursday, Sept. 19 sophomore Jered Harvey finished his night class and headed over to the Fulton street subway stop to wait for the train to his dorm. Harvey quickly found himself in the presence of an immensely alarming situation, however, when he witnessed a man brutally beating a woman on the train platform.
According to Harvey, at least twenty other commuters were on the platform ignoring the attack. Harvey, however, could not. He approached the man and calmly asked him to stop harming the woman. The man, who according to Harvey was quite obviously under the influence, became enraged and attacked him, picking up the 5’8 135 pound Business Economics major and throwing him down onto the subway tracks. Once on the tracks Harvey, recalls thinking, “if a train comes I could hide in the gutters and be alright.” The man then blocked Harvey from climbing up, keeping him on the tracks. Eventually he gave up and Harvey was able to climb to safety; the whole time onlookers did nothing.
“No one ever offered to help me, honestly I’m not surprised.” Once safe, Harvey went back to consoling the injured woman while a classmate who had appeared on the platform went upstairs to inform the MTA and call the police. Police arrived soon after arresting the man and coming to the aid of Harvey and the injured women. Harvey, who says he “never really feared for his safety” is now almost one hundred percent better. He had injured his knee but due to all the adrenaline, did not actually realize it until the following day. Many have asked why Harvey felt the need to act when no one else did. “ I reacted simply because no one else did. I am not a hero. What I did was ‘neutral’. I don’t see doing nothing as being neutral. Doing nothing is bad,” he said.
When asked, a majority of students were unaware of the incident. Even fewer students could believe that no one helped the women or Harvey. Some, such as sophomore, Brendon Batterson said he would have intervened, had he been in the same situation as Harvey. Others said they would have run upstairs for help, but none said they would just stand by idly and watch. “ Not many people would do what he did. He was brave and courageous,” a student remarked. Since the incident, many have
applauded Harvey for his ability to rise above the typical jaded New Yorker attitude of simply being a bystander in most situations. Individuals view Harvey’s actions as “heroic”, simply because he possessed the courage to act and stand up for someone purely because it was the right thing to do, not for any personal gain.
When asked if he credited anyone in his life for influencing his actions, the comic book enthusiast gave a smile and responded, “Batman”
