Late-night studyers get escort

Spectaguards will now depart regularly from Van Pelt to escort students home. In the hopes of increasing safety for students studying late into the night at Van Pelt Library, the University this week began a new program to escort students from the library back to their college houses and apartments. At the suggestion of the Undergraduate Assembly, security guards will depart every half hour from Rosengarten Reserve, from midnight to 3 a.m., to walk students back to their rooms, according to Spectaguard Assistant Vice President Gesi McAllister. Beginning last night, the service was temporarily extended to 5 a.m. to accommodate students studying for finals. "The UA suggested we implement this program during finals since many students study until the early morning hours at the library in preparation for exams," McAllister said in an e-mail, noting that after finals the program "will continue as long as it is successful." The new program is supplementary to the regular PennWalk service that students can use to travel with a security escort to locations on and around campus by calling 898-WALK until 3 a.m. College sophomore Dana Hork, the UA member who suggested the new program to Public Safety officials, said she believes that walking escorts are underutilized by students. The new late-night program "was based on the premise that a lot of students aren't necessarily calling the walking service," Hork said. "We'll see where the students who are using the program live and tailor it to their needs." Hork said she first approached McAllister with the idea in mid-November and that since then administrators have been "extremely responsive and helpful." "This would be something that I would use," Hork said of the new service. "Nobody should really be leaving the library alone" late at night. University Police Chief Maureen Rush said that the Division of Public Safety created the new escort program after it "came to the conclusion that people were really feeling good about the use of PennWalk." Rush added that since the new service began, "We see that the numbers have absolutely increased on walking escorts." The Division of Public Safety was pleased to offer the new service to allow students to feel comfortable studying away from their rooms late at night, she said. "We're thrilled that people are taking advantage of the safety resource and we are happy to assist students further -- in knowing that they're studying late into the night -- to make them feel that they can study late and still have a safe passage home," Rush said. Rush noted that Spectaguards and University Police officers will be patrolling Locust Walk and other campus-area streets where students walk late at night, adding that several officers will be working overtime until the end of the semester for an increased late-night police presence. Hork said the UA will be responsible for publicizing the new escort service among students who study in Rosengarten after midnight. She said that "depending on how [the new service] goes," the program could be expanded to have scheduled escort departures from other all-night study facilities like Steinberg-Dietrich Hall and the new Silfen Study Center in Williams Hall. "It is definitely a step in the right direction," Hork said.