The fate of the Yellow Jackets remains uncertain for the next school year, Department of Public Safety officials said Thursday. But at this point, all signs point toward a return for the volunteer campus patrol.
Since its debut May 6, the group has spent most of its time escorting students across campus while also observing student behavior. DPS officials and student coordinators will meet during the summer to determine whether Yellow Jackets will continue.
DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said he’d like to see more students involved in the group and added that, as with any preventative group, it is difficult to measure the overall effects. Student feedback from participants, campus feedback and financial considerations will be the most telling in determining whether Yellow Jackets will return, he said.
“At this point, we’re still committed to the program,” Hicks said.
DPS officer and Yellow Jackets Coordinator Royce Myers said he is optimistic about the project’s future and added that it is “going very well.”
Including himself, Yellow Jackets has 26 volunteers, Myers said.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Anne Leavitt is the only faculty member involved and said she has only been able to do one shift because of time constraints. Leavitt said she’d like to do at least one more patrol before the end of the year and added she hopes to do many more next fall or winter, when the campus gets dark earlier.
“I think the presence creates the perception of a friendly and safer campus,” Leavitt said.
Yellow Jacket Student Coordinator Meghan Madden said the patrols have been fairly quiet thus far. An occasional joke is made to patrol groups about their effectiveness, but an overwhelming majority of the comments are supportive in nature, she said.
“It’s not to say we’re not doing any good because we’re not catching anything,” Madden said. “I think it will definitely do some good.”
Funding for the Yellow Jackets comes directly from the DPS budget. Initial start-up costs for jackets and flashlights reached almost $400, but a fee of about $200 is incurred monthly for radio rentals, Hicks said. At that rate, the cost of maintaining patrols for a full school year could reach $1,800.
Meanwhile, DPS’ service and supply budget next year will be cut from $180,000 to $155,000, Hicks said.
Despite the small percentage of DPS funding actually allocated to Yellow Jackets, some think the money could be better spent elsewhere.
“I think it’s too much money to spend on an ineffectual program,” Oregon Commentator managing editor Tim Dreier said. “I think they could do a lot more with the budget.
“I don’t think five to 10 students walking around with flashlights is going to make the campus a whole hell of a lot safer.”
Dreier suggested more lights be placed behind Knight Library. Others think a more informative approach is necessary.
“I just feel the campus community would be better served by preventative measures rather than policing measures,” UO Cultural Forum receptionist Shane Cuddihy said.
Cuddihy, a senior sociology major, suggested the reinstatement of rickshaw-style transportation that adorned the University in previous years. That, he said, would provide campus safety as well as a useful service.
Nonetheless, participants remain optimistic about the program’s fate.
Madden said Yellow Jackets hoped for 30 volunteers originally, but that goal proved to be too difficult this late in the year. Madden said it is “very, very likely” the program will come back next year and added that she would like to see more than 100 participants.
“We’re not going to give up on the program,” Madden said. “Anything like this takes time to grow. We’re hopeful.”