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Security shuttle in effect, students appreciate ride

by Traci Langworthy

After a series of discussions between representatives from the Feminist Majority, the Campus Safety Advisory Committee and the Oberlin Safety and Security Office, the new security shuttle service has been placed in the hands of student test drivers and student passengers.

In operation since Tuesday, Feb. 11, the pilot program has been providing vehicular safety escorts off campus. Speaking about the level of student use so far, Security Superviser Gary Kriesen said, "It appears that it's slowly picking up, but at this point, it's too early to determine."

"There may be some nights when there might not be anyone. That's expected," Director of Security Keith James said. "But there may be times when it's really busy too." College senior Sally Farmer, one of the current drivers, drove the second night of operation and remembered it as "pretty boring" until the first calls started coming in around 11:00 p.m. She said the shuttle has a set route, but that the route would work better if the service had a greater number of passengers. She responded to calls directly and tried to stay in central areas of the campus the rest of the time.

On Monday, Farmer transported seven passengers in roughly one hour. Double degree senior Derrick Gay and Conservatory sophomore Sybil Rolle got on at the Conservatory for a ride to their homes off campus. "We love it," they said simultaneously about the new shuttle service. Rolle cited the questionable safety of her neighborhood around Groveland Street. Then she said, "It's not really unsafe, but the service helps a lot."

The next five passengers expressed similar support. College sophomore Lindsey Stowe-Berns said she always thought the College should have a service similar to this even before the possibility started being discussed.

College junior Andrew Katz happened to be walking by the shuttle while it was stopped and got on board for a ride. He said he didn't use the old escort system but would use the shuttle service again. Although Farmer said she likes walking on the job better, she said, "It's fun to play taxi driver one night a week, too."

Passenger Turaj Zaimi, a College junior, asked, "Why would you feel safe with a walking escort?"

The shuttle operates between 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., but Kriesen said the busiest time will be the last two hours of operation if the shuttle service experiences the same patterns as the old escort system. As one of three supervisors in the Security Department, Kriesen was instrumental in organizing the current system with its one van and six scheduled cadet drivers.

The scheduled route is a product of consultations with members of the College community which began under Interim Director of Security Joe DiChristina's leadership and continued under Keith James' supervision. It was outlined in a student mailing sent out Jan. 28, which established Wilder Hall, Philips Gym, Keep Co-op, Hall Auditorium, South Hall and the King/Rice parking lot as potential stops, with other streets and areas covered in between.

In practice the route has been tailored by drivers to meet the needs of student calls much like the security escort system in place which continues to provide students with either walking or vehicular escorts upon request, although its function has been reduced.

Cadet driver sophomore John Norris said he drove around the route in between calls on his first night out, waiting at certain stops for a few minutes.

Ideally, James said, people will be able to go to designated stops trusting the shuttle will be there within 20 minutes at the latest. Phone calls could be used to find out the position of the shuttle in its route and to establish an approximate time of arrival. "If we break the route of the shuttle, it throws the shuttle off," he said.

Yet, Kriesen said, "It's going to take a while for people to get comfortable with the route."

In the mean time, Kriesen and James both cited the benefits of the shuttle system to students as well as officers.

When the escort service was the primary mode of securing student travel off-campus, on-campus manpower was often lost, according to James. "The shuttle system allows for transportation without taking officers away from campus," he said.

Also, James said some of the student requests that were taking officers away from campus were less about safety concerns and more about cold weather. "I'm not naive as to knowing that a lot of the requests are related to cold weather," he said.

Kriesen said walking escorts have been rejected in the past by students who anticipated vehicular escorts. "Our primary goal is to provide a safety escort," Kriesen said. "That's what this whole service is about." Farmer said she's hoping the shuttle service may cut down on drunk driving as well.

While James cited the safety advantages of the officer's radio and training, as well as the added safety of additional numbers, he said he "understands why someone would feel safer with a vehicular escort."

Speaking "as a parent," James said, "it would be nice if the program could grow to have the community buy into it also, especially with the community not having a taxi service."

As a pilot program, James said the shuttle service will be assessed at the end of each month to determine possible improvements. "I'm hoping to pull some people together from the community to see how we could improve it, because I'm sure there will be some adjustments to make."


Photo:
A night in shining armor: The new security shuttle aims to escort studens safely home at night. Student-driven by students, the minivan follows a route from 8 to 2 every night. (photo by Zach Fried)


Related Story:

Escort service plans scrapped
- November 22, 1996

Oberlin

Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 15; February 21, 1997

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