This week Student Council discussed two new student groups aimed at increasing student safety — Buddies on Call and Student Watch. These organizations have sprung up out of heightened concern for student safety, and are making progress establishing their infrastructure.
Council members raised questions about whether these new groups are the best way to approach the issue of safety, and whether Student Council should be overseeing these initiatives. One council member suggested a better approach would be to raise student fees to add another SafeRide van, or to increase patrol by the University Police Department. Though these changes could do more to address the safety issue, active participation by students is especially valuable in a university setting, as it contributes to a necessary change in culture and sense of responsibility.
Safety on Grounds and in surrounding areas is clearly a concern of many students, and these new student groups have shown a desire to participate in addressing this concern. Essentially, they will institutionalize a practice which students should be doing anyway — taking care of each other. The advantage to having students rather than administrators lead the initiative for greater safety is that students can more easily view their peers as models for how they should be living in this community. Even if a student is not a member of one of the new safety groups, he will see students taking it upon themselves to help others, and is more likely to adopt this same practice.
Students in need of help may also be more likely to trust other students to help them, because many unsafe situations involve alcohol. Of course, some emergencies require calling the police. But there is a resistance to calling emergency services for fear of getting in trouble for under-aged drinking. There also could be reticence about increased police patrol for this reason. SafeRide would also not be a viable option, since the University’s website states SafeRide does not transport intoxicated students. Student safety patrollers would provide a non-threatening source of help in non-emergency situations, particularly when alcohol is involved.
Because the main role of Student Council is to address concerns of the student body, it only makes sense for them to participate in this effort. In addition to adopting some of the accountability for student safety, Student Council can aid the new groups in constructing their organizations and reaching the student body.
A potential structural change which might make the initiative more successful is combining the two groups into one. They perform similar functions, and combining them would eliminate confusion about the roles and operating locations of each, as well as pool the resources each group is currently working with separately. Merging would ensure an appropriate number of student helpers are allocated to all areas which need safety coverage.
Student self-governance — the principle we uphold above all else at the University — is not just making decisions about who our leaders are and what our policies are. It is also taking what responsibility we can to help our peers stay safe. The students participating in these new organizations have taken this initiative, which will hopefully result in long-lasting cultural change.
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