Campus safety has been a recurring issue at the University for years. Nearly all of this year’s ASUO Executive candidates have mentioned the need for better campus safety precautions, especially after last spring’s series of attacks and the Jan. 30 attempted rape behind the Knight Library. Perennial gripes about campus safety are valid, and the administration should be taking steps to make people feel safer while at school.
One way to create a safe atmosphere would be to brighten up the campus. Although installing lights may not solve all of the safety issues plaguing campus, nighttime visibility is an option that can help solve the bigger problem. More lighting for safe paths at night is an option that the University has seriously been considering for a number of years. It is time to stop talking about installing more lights and start the process. Conservation is an important issue for students and the ASUO, but these efforts should not overshadow campus safety. Lighting may be a small step toward solving the problem, but it will make a big difference to those afraid to walk through campus in the dark — especially since there is a rising number of night classes.
Last spring, the ASUO allocated $150,000 from the overrealized fund to install lights on campus to increase safety. Last fall, the Campus Planning Committee began taking tours of campus at night to decide where the lights would be best placed. Eugene city lighting codes changed shortly after the committee began planning, while the installation of the lights conflicted with the ASUO’s new energy conservation campaign — and the project has been stalled ever since.
The undertaking has gone through a lot of red tape and now the ASUO’s “Doin’ it in the Dark” campaign members are researching alternative options to both enhance safety and save energy. Campaign members want to weigh lighting efficiency against expenses in order to keep the student energy fee from going back up. Other student groups are contributing to the research, although the project was only handed over to the ASUO’s conservation committee last week.
Aside from increased lighting, another safety option would be to have philanthropic student groups work with the Department of Public Safety to increase the number of walking escorts on campus. According to DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks, the department receives a small number of calls per night and DPS can only take students to the campus boundaries. If student groups became involved with the effort, the walking escorts could increase their radius beyond campus, much like Project Saferide vans shuttle students beyond the streets of the University. With time and commitment, a walking program has the potential to be just as popular as Saferide — and it would be a concrete step toward making the campus community safer.
The bottom line is some men and women on campus feel unsafe, and the University needs to be taking precautions to create a secure environment for everyone. By acting quickly to create a walking service, coupled with the overrealized fund dollars to install lights around places like the cemetery area, the EMU to the Knight Library route, and the Fenton Hall courtyard, to name a few, the University can begin make everyone feel a little safer.