CSO celebrates 23 years of public safety at UCLA
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 10, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 EDWARD LIN CSO Brian Troutman, a
third-year psychology student, escorts third-year philosophy
student, Tawny Bauman back to her apartment.
By Jessica Kwek
Daily Bruin Contributor
From escort services and evening van pools to access control,
UCLA participates in several programs to help students feel safe on
and around campus.
In its 23rd year of existence, the Community Service Officers
program now employs about 80 students to patrol bicycles around
UCLA’s 419-acre campus.
“CSOs act as the eyes and ears of the police
department,” said Matt Ellis, assistant manager of the CSO
programs.
The officers escort students walking home from dusk until 1 a.m.
year-round. They serve students living within the area roughly
bounded by Sunset and Wilshire Boulevards and Veteran and Hilgard
Avenues.
According to Ellis, a CSO usually responds to a call within 15
minutes.
Besides an escort, some students opt for the evening van
service, which served more than 100,000 riders last year, Ellis
said.
Evening vans, which pick up and drop students off at designated
points along a set route on campus and in Westwood, run from 6 p.m.
to midnight Monday through Thursday. During tenth and finals weeks,
the vans run on weekends as well.
Ellis said students are encouraged to use the escort service
because it goes door to door, unlike the vans.
In addition to making sure students return home safely, CSOs
patrol other areas owned by the university, including apartments,
the medical center and parking facilities.
“When the escorts are not actually walking with someone,
they patrol the campus looking for suspicious activity, safety
hazards and anyone in need of help,” Ellis said.
According to CSO Brad Stein, about 30-35 student officers patrol
campus each night.
While CSOs provide services to the entire UCLA community, other
organizations like the Office of Residential Life have their own
programs or policies to ensure safety.
“I felt living in the residence halls was an extremely
safe experience,” said Jennifer Eskin, a third-year history
student.
The ORL hires students to work access control between 9 p.m. and
5 a.m. each night to verify the identity of those entering the
dorms.
“When I lived in Dykstra Hall, we had to sign in every
guest who arrived after nine and everyone else had to swipe their
Bruin Card to enter the building,” said Sara Caballero, a
third-year economics student.
The ORL also administers the Gotcha! program, where CSOs
patrolling residence halls leave stickers on doors of rooms left
unattended, reminding residents they may have been burglarized.
For a CSO escort, call (310) 794-WALK.
