With many of BC High’s students commuting to school through the MBTA, we have seen our fair share of interesting characters on these rail lines. One recent example is “The Rat Guy” on the Orange Line with his infamous pet rat, Jerry. He was arrested for disorderly conduct, threatening police officers, disturbing the peace, and even kicked off trains for having an animal loose. After this recent scandal, I took the time to ask a few of my fellow students about their most interesting, funny, and sometimes scary experiences on the MBTA’s Red and Orange Lines.

The first was a run-in with “The Rat Guy,” whose real name is Jefferey Stuart. This sophomore, Dante Minacapilli, filled me in on his run-in with the infamous owner of Jerry the rat. He explains that he ran into Jefferey on the Orange Line, and that Stuart only talks to Jerry. Dante told me that he screams many random things, such as “I’m your worst nightmare,” which can be seen in the news about him being arrested. I was also informed that he often tells Jerry to behave. Sources have said that he tends to stay on the Orange Line for the entire day, and only leaves when he is kicked off by MBTA officials. Another student explained that they once saw Jefferey put Jerry the rat into a baby carriage, which would be an incredibly scary experience for any mother.

Another story was one of the incredibly common train malfunctions. This student, Max Achab ‘25, was minding his business, walking into a car on the Red Line. After boarding the train, it started chugging along at the classic Red Line speed. This was when Max realized that it sounded even louder than normal, and when he looked up he realized that the doors on the train had never been shut. He was forced to travel for five stops on this dangerous train, and he has started to rethink taking the Red Line since then. 

We have all had our fair share of treacherous train experiences while commuting to BC High, and if you have any you would like to be published, feel free to email these stories to oa.lloyd25@students.bchigh.edu.