In light of several recent assaults on University students and employees, members of the University community have heightened their concern over the issue of safety on and off Grounds.
Members of two safety committees are addressing these concerns during their annual safety walks, which tour eight heavily trafficked areas on and around Grounds to discuss issues of student security.
The Student Council Safety Concerns Committee and the Security and General Safety Committee, which includes students and administrators, are sponsoring the walks, which began last Thursday and will continue until Sunday.
One topic of discussion during the walks has been lighting in more remote residence areas, said Council Executive Vice President Ronnie Mayhew, who led a walk through the areas of Scott Stadium, Hereford College and Gooch-Dillard.
"The stadium area was in general pretty well-lit, though we did find one light bulb that was out in the Southwest corner," Mayhew said.
Most of the burned-out light bulbs were in the Gooch-Dillard and Hereford residence areas, he added.
The walks were held earlier than last year in order to have a report on their findings completed by Winter Break, said Katie Rude, chairwoman of the Council Safety Concerns Committee.
"In the past few years, after the walks in January or February, the report came out in March," Rude said. "But this year we hope to have the report completed and submitted to the Security and General Safety Committee by the time we leave for Winter Break."
She added that by the time the report was submitted in past years, students had left for the summer and no one was around to lobby for changes.
But Rude also said routine maintenance concerns, such as burned-out light bulbs and crumbling sidewalks, have been quickly addressed in the past.
Mark Fletcher, chairman of the Security and General Safety Committee, said he believes the earlier date will help his committee address the issues in a timelier fashion.
Fletcher explained his committee leads its own annual "Night Walks" in the fall and spring.
"I recall last year I was on both committees, and you see different things each time," he said. "Some people might see a redundancy in it, but I think that there is little room for redundancy when dealing with issues of safety in the University community."
Two more walks will be held today, as well as on Wednesday and Sunday. All walks will leave the Council workroom at 7:30 p.m. and last until 9:00 p.m.
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