After two alleged assaults on University students this month - one involving a robbery in a Lambeth Field apartment and an armed robbery of two students walking on University Circle - the University community is stepping up to increase safety for students and staff.
The first major initiative has been to improve the efficiency of the Escort Service, the late-night van service founded by Student Council to safely transport students during late hours.
But demand for the Escort Service has grown much larger than its ability to provide rides since its operation was taken over by University Police in 1997.
University Police Chief Michael Sheffield said he estimated the Escort Service will give about 60,000 rides this year, 10,000 more rides than last year.
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"It is a fast growing transportation system," Sheffield said.
Because of this growth, University Police and Council have put forth efforts to make the Escort Service more efficient.
Last October, Leonard Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief financial officer, indicated to Council that it was his desire to improve the Escort Service, said College Representative Abby Fifer.
The University Police and Sandridge met earlier this month to discuss the University Police budget and the future of the Escort Service.
"We did agree that we needed more information, therefore the Budget Office will work with the Police Department to conduct a needs assessment and cost analysis of the Escort Service," Sandridge said.
Currently the Escort Service employs three vans to cart students to various locations around Grounds and to some off-Grounds areas from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.
Because the Escort Service only owns three vans - and sometimes only operates one or two at a time - some students are annoyed and concerned with the increased wait times.
Waiting outside for the van has "the same amount of danger as if you just walked home," said second-year College student Shereen Abdel-Nabi. "They are never there when they say they will be."
Abdel-Nabi said she has had to wait longer than 45 minutes several times.
According to Sheffield, the only thing yet to be resolved with the Escort Service is the wait time, which he said can often be more than a half-hour.
One of the proposed solutions to decrease the long waiting times has been to find money to purchase more vans.
Sheffield said that funding had been provided from the Vice President's office for a new van. But because the costs of the vans are so high, and the vans wear out quickly, the new van will be used to replace an older one.
Council also is looking to find money for new vans.
Fifer said Council wants to get two new vans to replace the existing vans and two additional vans to bring the total to four working vehicles.
"We're very passionate about it but we don't have the resources," she said.
She added that Council is looking for alumni to possibly donate new vans or offer them at a discount to the University.
Although the Escort Service has been given funding to purchase a new van, there are still some important obstacles to overcome.
"The key is getting students involved," Sheffield said.
A security officer drives the van and a student volunteer rides in the passenger seat, answering phone calls and organizing who gets picked up and when.
Sheffield said if a student is not available, a security officer that could be outside patrolling is pulled off the street to ride with the driver. "The critical thing is student help," he said.
Sheffield also said keeping Clemons Library open 24 hours, a project recently proposed by Council members, would help alleviate some of the backlog problems of the Escort Service and slow response time.
He suggested a van could be staged at Clemons to give rides to people as they come outside, rather than having people call and wait for a half-hour or more.
Sheffield also noted that students often take the Escort Service when they have not called, creating even more of a wait for those students who did call.
Other options involve including the University Transit System in making nighttime transportation safer and more efficient.
UTS and the University Police are working on hiring a graduate student to conduct a study of the Escort and bus services within the next year, Sheffield said.
He said he hopes the research will yield some new options for the Escort Service and UTS.
Council's Safety Committee and the Security and General Safety Committee also have been working on making walking around Grounds safer.
"We've been working on putting more blue phones in," said Letty Lau, chairwoman of Council's Safety Committee.
Assoc. Commerce School Prof. William Wilkerson, chairman of the Security and General Safety Committee, said they have put two new light fixtures and a sidewalk along Lambeth Way and installed two new blue lights, one behind the Architecture School and the other by the International Center.
The Security and General Safety Committee, as well as Council's Safety Committee, is planning a "safety walk" before the end of the semester to determine what areas of the University would benefit from increased security measures like more blue lights and street lamps.
As always, the University Police are "constantly looking at programs to educate our students and staff" about safety, Sheffield said.
He added that University Police are looking into off-Grounds housing safety issues as well.
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