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Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Safety sought in moonlight walk

Published 2011-10-25T20:28:00Z”/>

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Raquel Royers

Students, faculty and University Police came together to roam the campus on Thursday night with the same goal in mind – safety.

The Moonlight Safety Walk brought together about 150 people willing to donate their time to make Chico State safer.

The walk was put on by the Public Safety Advisory Committee and sponsored by the President’s Office, University Police Lt. Robyn Hearne said.

“We have several eyes, which makes it easier,” Hearne said. “This is a very focused group of folks going out there.”

Student input is one of the most important aspects of the Moonlight Walk, Associated Students President London Long said.

“Students can really connect and feel like they are a part of the public safety on our campus,” Long said. “I think it’s really important for students to be involved in these decisions.”

The campus was split up into four areas and individuals could choose which group they wished to go with. Each group had a representative member from organizations such as University Police and Facilities Management and Services. When a hazard or safety concern was identified, it was written down on a list and also marked with blue tape or a pink ribbon so it could be found later.

Forty safety concerns were noted from a group roaming areas around campus housing, Shurmer Gym and surrounding areas near the bike path.

Tree trimmings, inactive lights and blue emergency phones were the most common hazards documented.

Lighting is one of the biggest concerns for the campus after the sun goes down. University Police tries to have the proper amount of lighting in campus areas that are frequented often. This includes walking paths, parking lots and bike paths.

One major problem is that there are many “unofficial” paths that are used to cut through to the main bike path from campus, Hearne said. Students need to identify a main route that will be taken to get to the bike path so that the university can make it the safest route.

“Students need to make the decision,” Hearne said. “If it were determined that a certain area is ‘the route’ then let’s light it up like a Christmas tree.”

The lists of hazards that were found will be counted and sent to Facilities Management and Services, Hearne said.

Facilities Management and Services is good at fixing the things presented to the department, said Marvin Pratt, director of Environmental Health and Safety. A lot of the lighting projects on campus stemmed from previous walks.

In the future, University Police plans to install security cameras above blue lights in order to identify the caller and monitor the problem, Hearne said. The cameras would lead to a safer campus.

Jaypinderpal Virdee, A.S. commissioner of Community Affairs, thinks the blue lights are of huge importance to student safety on campus, he said.

“I think student safety is a huge priority on campus,” Virdee said. “I am happy that I can participate in this and help to ensure that each student is as safe as possible.”

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<strong>Raquel Royers can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>

 

  1. Spotlight – Moonlight Walk
  2. Spotlight – Moonlight Walk
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