SafeRide/campus escorts need improvement
Letters to the Editor
Eva Chan
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Opinion
It is indisputable that security on the CWRU campus has improved in recent years. With the early 2009 launch of the SafeRide program, it has provided an alternative way for students to go across at late hours. However, I would like to express how disgusted I was with the attitude I received from the dispatchers last Friday night. I had called back a few times to check on the status of my ride and after an hour, I was told that I was no longer on the list because the van had left me since I wasn't present. However, I had been standing at a completely glass door and had seen no car pass by, let alone a van that was specifically marked with big words. After asking the dispatcher what I could do, I was told multiple times that he "couldn't help [me]" and also suggested that I walk home across campus at 3 a.m. I was finally placed at the end of the wait list again after minutes of explaining that I needed a way of getting back to my room on Northside from the top of the hill on Southside. After checking up on the status of my ride multiple times again, I was told that it may be another hour of wait, even though I had waited for two hours already. Frustrated, I inconvenienced a friend to pick me up at 4 a.m.
I would like to call to the attention of Case Security to reevaluate the management of their SafeRide program. I understand that they were understaffed and it was a particularly busy night. However, I feel it is inexcusable to not have planned ahead knowing that it was Halloween weekend and more students would be out late than on a typical weekend. If an inebriated student was put in the same situation that I was put in last Friday, it could have been potentially dangerous. With the long wait and poor manner which the situation was handled, students may have tried to leave on their own, posing many security concerns. Students have proven to be responsible to call Safe Ride during late hours, which is something that has been heavily promoted, rather than walking across campus by themselves. I hope that Case Security can continue improve their services as it a valuable asset to students at CWRU.
I would like to call to the attention of Case Security to reevaluate the management of their SafeRide program. I understand that they were understaffed and it was a particularly busy night. However, I feel it is inexcusable to not have planned ahead knowing that it was Halloween weekend and more students would be out late than on a typical weekend. If an inebriated student was put in the same situation that I was put in last Friday, it could have been potentially dangerous. With the long wait and poor manner which the situation was handled, students may have tried to leave on their own, posing many security concerns. Students have proven to be responsible to call Safe Ride during late hours, which is something that has been heavily promoted, rather than walking across campus by themselves. I hope that Case Security can continue improve their services as it a valuable asset to students at CWRU.
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