It is vitally important that all students are safe on any college/university campus at all times. As a current master’s of social work student on the Athens campus at the University of Georgia, I feel safe. Why? Maybe because it is during daylight hours.
Recently, there have been some events that happened around campus after dark. In response, UGA has launched a new program, part of an $8.5 million safety initiative that includes installing more security cameras and additional campus police officers.
In October, an attempted armed robbery occurred on Williams Street around 11 p.m. Unbelievable! This is on the same street as UGA’s School of Social Work. I am on Williams Street at the School of Social Work three days per week. Also in October, there were a string of six armed robberies that occurred over one weekend after dark, and all were within a 10-minute drive of the University of Georgia. Last, in October, there was a hit-and-run tragedy near the UGA campus that took the life of a UGA undergraduate student. What do all of these events have in common? They all occurred at night.
Thank you to University of Georgia for partnering with Lyft and offering students half-price discounts to and from campus late at night. Should UGA do more to protect the student body? Yes! Perhaps a partnership with Uber would be helpful as well.
Still, there remains the question of what can be done to protect pedestrian students crossing the street? There are numerous sidewalks and lights throughout campus and downtown. Would adding more help? Would adding speed bumps on the roads throughout downtown enhance safety crossing? It would definitely slow down drivers who feel the need to drive at top speed traveling on campus and in the downtown area.
As part of UGA’s initiative, the installation of more security cameras and more officers are great. I believe it is also imperative that the university listen to us, the students, and find out what makes us feel safe on campus. Personally, I would love a university sponsored self-defense class which offers extra credit for attendance. Also, advertising for volunteer campus protection support at night for those who have to walk or stop to get gas at night would be helpful, too. Bring back the blue light emergency buttons, and consider gating the UGA campus as much as possible to reduce unauthorized individuals passing through without verification.
Furthermore, UGA has taken the first step, and that is realizing that student safety is important and there needs to be some changes implemented. The partnership with Lyft is a great start, with hopefully more safety measures to happen in the near future.
In the meantime, the UGA student body should partner up or group up when going on or around campus late at night. Please be cautious when crossing the street. Do not always assume a car is going to stop because you are a pedestrian. Remember, power is in numbers!
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