| In response to a number of recent crimes in areas near the campus, the University has expanded its evening walking escort service.
According to Lawrence Thornton Jr., director of Public Safety, “This expansion is our way of addressing the current needs of University students, faculty and staff. We have listened to their concerns, and we are responding to their needs.
“The University’s walking escort service has been in place for more than six years, and its primary goal is to enable members of the University community to travel from one campus location to another with a sense of security.”
This service is offered at no charge, Thornton said, and is available every night of the week. Public Safety student employees primarily serve as escorts, and full-time security guards and police officers are used when demand is high.
The walking escort service is designed to complement, not replace, the established shuttle service that runs in the evenings, Thornton said. The walking service is available to students who need to go to a location not served by the transit system, such as a person leaving Morris Library and returning to Harrington Residence Hall Complex.
An escort may be requested by using one of the more than 200 blue light emergency phones located throughout the campus or by calling Public Safety at 831-2222. Callers must give their name, exact location and destination. Escorts are equipped with two-way radios providing instant communication to the Public Safety dispatcher.
“With an increasing number of assaults reported near the campus in recent weeks,” Thornton said, “the walking service has been expanded to include some off-campus locations that are close by University property, such as the University Courtyard, School Lane and Ivy Hall apartment complexes and the Prospect and Cleveland avenue areas.”
During an average month, Public Safety receives about 150 escort requests, and there was a slight increase during March.
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