After their Nov. 17 meeting, members of the Student Government Association walked around campus with University Police Department officers for a safety walk.
Safety walks are a chance for students to bring any concerns regarding safety on campus to the attention of UPD officers. They take note of these suggestions, which are then evaluated by UPD chief Pete Jensen and sent on to Facilities Management.
“It’s nice because we get to give our input of where we feel unsafe or are concerned and how we think it can be fixed,” SGA President Sami Zoss said. “Feeling unsafe doesn’t necessarily mean just being physically threatened, it can also be a place where you feel nervous or concerned. So, it’s nice that we are able to put in our input about that.”
The group was split into two groups to cover more parts of campus, Zoss said. About 10 SGA senators went on the walk, which all students had been invited to via email earlier in the week.
“Something that’s cool this year is that we get to give our input of where we think UPD should put in more or new cameras,” she said. “We also find out where cameras already are.”
Although SGA members aren’t required to go on the safety walk, Zoss said that they’ve done it for the past two years. She said she’d like to see them happen at least once a year, though that’s not always a guarantee.
Zoss said any organization can request a safety walk with UPD.
“I think it’s beneficial for SGA to participate in the walks because we represent students on campus,” she said. “A lot of what we hear from students we can voice while going on these walks.”
Zoss believes other organizations should think about participating.
“I think it’s interesting and a good way for UPD to hear from students about how safe they feel on campus,” she said.
