The annual Nightwalk event, sponsored by Student Government, will be held tonight from 7:30 to 9 p.m ., after several incidents concerning campus safety have been reported during this academic year.
Josh Privette , chairman for the Comission on Transportation in Student Government, said Nightwalk is an event students should be paying more attention to this year.
“This event is probably one of the most important events that goes on at State every year, yet it is the least attended event. In light of the multiple campus safety events this year, no matter how minor, we want our student population to feel safe,” Privette said.
During the event, everyone will have the opportunity to become aware of key places on campus that are at the most risk for encountering crime activity. The event will educate students about risks and safety techniques for walking through these locations alone at late hours.
“If it’s too late, I’m not comfortable walking alone because of all the incidents that have been reported. I always walk in a group, because of all the recent incidents,” Aishwarya Ravichander , graduate student in electrical engineering, said.
Students who participate in the Nightwalk will be divided into groups with Student Government members; they will split up across campus to highlight and address current safety problems.
“I don’t feel safe walking on campus at night; we need more light. I feel like there are a lot of dim and creepy areas where people can jump out and scare, rob, or rape students,” Telicia Hunter, senior in human biology, said.
During the event, the campus is sectioned off into various areas to demonstrate potentially dangerous places for students to walk alone at night.
“The campus is split into 11 different sections and we will walk through to hopefully point out problems that exist,” Privette said.
Locations on campus that will be focused on will be dark places, trip hazards, streetlights or lights that are out, and other sites that are usually overlooked. Students will also be able to voice their concerns on safety issues they fell are important.
“Compared to last year when I was on campus, it seems pretty safe. The one location I found unsafe is behind Jordan Hall near Dan Allen. I think that’s one of the worst locations. I typically walk with my friends at night,” Travis Wray, sophomore in sports management, said.
One of the main reasons this is important, according to Privette , is how empty the campus can be during later hours.
“Administrators and facilities staff are generally not on duty during the evening and overnight, so sometimes they are unaware of safety issues that may exist once the sun goes down,” Privette said.
There are different resources students and faculty can use in case of emergencies, when they feel their safety is threatened. Emergency telephones are also located throughout campus, and can easily be seen with the blue light above each location.
The campus police department is always available by dialing 919-515-3000. The campus police also offer a Safety Escort Service for students, faculty, and staff who need to travel around campus during late hours.
“I haven’t used the campus escort services because I’m not exactly aware of what conditions I can use that service under,” Ravichander said.
To request a safety escort, the campus police number can be called using personal phones or the blue light emergency phones located throughout campus. The emergency phones connect directly to Campus Police.
“I typically don’t walk alone at night. Instead I use the escort services; however, they can take a long time,” Hunter said.
The escort services usually will give an estimation of how long they will be until picking up users of the service. However, there are some cases when they may be very busy, especially on weekends, when arriving. Wray said this could be due to some students not respecting the services.
“I do feel some people abuse the escort services, causing other people to have to wait longer,” Wray said.
All concerns about campus safety, escort services, and other alternatives for safety will be addressed at the Nightwalk . Student Government will begin the event at Bragaw Carriageway.