Plans for a student-supervised ride service have been pushed back to the fall 2012 semester while Student Government and university police explore liability issues.
A safe and free service for escorting students, faculty and staff—better known as a SAFE team—previously existed on campus. Students trained by the university police department offered rides to the parking garage or other on-campus destinations as a way to “limit any exposure to people they shouldn’t encounter.”
According to T.J. Ewin, a junior and former Student Government member, the SAFE program in its previous iteration was “abused,” and eventually disbanded in late 2010.
In recent weeks, executive members of SG have expressed support to fund a new SAFE program. “Everything falls on police officers, and there’s only so many of them versus the vast amount of students we have,” Ewin said.
The program, however, won’t be up and running until the fall semester at the earliest, since the current budget lacks funding for the initiative. According to Quincy Lopez, a senior serving as veteran liaison for SG, students and university police are currently in negotiations over the liability issues and “potential danger” for students trained as escorts.
“They can’t carry a gun,” Lopez said. “Their only defense is a walkie-talkie.” Lopez believes a SAFE team is “imperative” to campus safety because of the campus’s openness and university police’s “limited staffing.”
If police are giving a student a ride from Harbor Hall and an emergency call comes in, the police will need to respond to the emergency call, Lopez said. “Someone is going to be neglected.”
Students in need of a supervised ride may request one by using one of the 34 blue phones on campus. Pressing the red emergency button opens a direct line of communication with university police.
According to Lt. Reggie Oliver, the department gets escort requests occasionally. “We don’t get a lot of calls from students,” said Oliver, adding calls vary from once every few days to once a week, depending on campus events.
“I think it [the SAFE team] would be a benefit to students if the opportunity was there, as an option,” Oliver said.
For Ewin, however, the SAFE team is a proactive measure. “We know something will happen, someone will get shot or robbed,” he said. “And when that does happen, security will be beefed up.”
SG is planning to fund half the SAFE team, with the administration picking up the other half, according to Lopez. The initiative, Lopez said, must be “collective,” with faculty, staff, university police, the administration and Student Life working together “so no one gets hurt.”
Matthew Morrin, director of Student Life and Engagement, said his department has not received a formal proposal, but added the importance of a service that keeps students safe.
USF Tampa’s SAFE team currently offers free golf cart rides at night. The service is limited to one or two rides per party, and the SAFE team also performs patrols, offers jumper cables, flat tire services and free cab rides for students over 21 that have imbibed too much to get home safely.
Photo by Daniel Mutter
Nice story, Wendy. Well done. Especially with Harbor Hall at a distance from the campus’ main areas, security needs have ramped up a great deal in the last year. Good job!
Thanks, Dr. Silvia. Hope all parties involved can work together to make this happen and keep the student interest in mind.