In the wake of UW-Madison junior Brittany Zimmermann's homicide, campus safety has become a major concern in the university community.
Director of the ASM campus safety campaign Kelly Arendt said, Over the past year we've started to develop a lot of things with campus safety. We have a campus safety task force which encompasses the Dean of Students office, the Department of Transportation, University Communications, ASM and a bunch of other organizations that work together to help make campus safer.""
According to Arendt, ASM created a campus alert Facebook group, which was used yesterday to send out messages notifying group members of the tragedy. ASM also created a Neighborhood Watch Program in which volunteers gather to patrol three local zones on Friday and Saturday nights: the College Court area, the south side of Regent Street and the south side of State Street.
""We're working really hard now to make sure that everyone still feels safe, that people won't be worried on campus, and that nothing bad happens again,"" Arendt said.
Gordon Graham, director of Transportation Services said in a statement, ""SAFE Nighttime Services has responded to Brittany's tragic death by doubling SAFE walk student employee patrols,"" which are available from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., as well as SAFEride Cabs from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.
""[Zimmermann's death] is eye opening and it makes you feel unsafe."" UW-Madison sophomore Becca Heffernan said. ""Madison feels different now, I don't feel as safe.""
Although the university urged students to use SAFE services, Miranda Perrone, a UW-Madison student struggled to get a SAFEride home last night.
Perrone said she was confused when she called SAFEride yesterday and was told that services would not be available until 1:00 a.m., when she instead walked alone to the Memorial Union to take the Route 80 SAFEbus.
University officials urge students not to walk alone at night and to be proactive about their own safety.
For questions about SAFE hours please refer to their website http://www2.fpm.wisc.edu/trans/safe/index.htm.
