Two friends waited late at night on 15th Street for SafeRide. They were compelled to stand outside alone because SafeRide's phone operator could not give an estimated time of arrival. The operator said the van should be there soon and would leave if they were not outside. Fifteen minutes passed and SafeRide still had not arrived; so they called the operator, only to receive an indifferent response claiming again that the van should be there soon. After the call was made, the two were approached by a group of three men, one of whom proceeded to make vulgar and sexual comments about the outfit one of the friends was wearing. She backed away from the man, who finally stopped and walked away after an uncomfortable period of time. After this, the two decided to wait in a nearby apartment building and placed another call to SafeRide. By this time 40 minutes had passed and the operator again said the van was on its way. Unfortunately, the apartment building was a short-lived refuge. A group of belligerently drunk males approached and cursed at the two individuals for not immediately opening the door for them. Once the door opened, the men proceeded to make sexist remarks and stormed away. An hour had passed since the first call and there was still no sign of SafeRide. After being subjected to such abuse, the two decided they could wait no longer and walked home - alone.
SafeRide should offer much better service than it did in this unfortunate story, reported by a fourth-year student who wishes to remain anonymous. SafeRide was created in the late 1980s by Student Council and the University of Virginia Police Department in order to offer students a safe method of transportation at night. SafeRide vans are driven by members of law enforcement and transport students who would otherwise have to walk alone.
The concept of SafeRide is great, but the way in which the program is administered is flawed and puts students at risk. Only two weeks have passed since someone attempted to sexually assault a woman while she was waiting for SafeRide.
The first problem is SafeRide's service. That a SafeRide operator cannot give an estimated time of arrival puts students at risk and is contradictory to the program's mission. Because no estimated time of arrival was offered, the two students in the aforementioned incident had to wait outside to anticipate SafeRide's arrival for fear that the van would leave if the driver did not see them. If SafeRide had offered an estimated time, the students could have waited inside, potentially avoiding the encounter with the three men on 15th Street.
In addition, waits of nearly an hour without the appearance of a van are inexcusable. If the operator had known there would be delays, he should have been honest with the callers. Instead, he repeatedly stated that the van was on its way and would be there soon. Because the operator said the van would be there soon, the callers chose not to find alternative transportation. Had the operator just been honest and stated that a van could not come, the callers could have taken a cab and avoided waiting for an hour in an unsafe situation.
In SafeRide's defense, its website advises students who are "in a hurry or feel unsafe" to call Yellow Cab for quicker service and pay the fare later through the Office of the Dean of Students. On the other hand, SafeRide's inability to give an estimated arrival time or even show up after being called shows that this program does not have the resources to meet demands.
It is the University's responsibility to protect its students, but it has not lived up to this mission lately. Within the past few months, numerous attacks have taken place against University students. From a bias-motivated hate crime to armed robberies and sexual assaults on and near Grounds, University students have had a turbulent semester. Personal safety and security is a right - not a privilege - and students should not have to feel unsafe or targeted for any reason. Nothing is more important at this University than the health and well-being of students, so if students continue to be attacked, then clearly not enough resources are devoted to security.
Resources for SafeRide should be bolstered and its reach extended to prevent future lapses in service that can have terrible and unsafe consequences for students. The number of attacks that have occurred recently is inexcusable and could have been prevented if students did not walk alone at night. Obviously, the University has limited resources, but student safety should take precedence over every other budget issue because without safe students, there is no University.
Jamie Dailey is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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