Escort hours can leave some stranded

As finals week approaches and students’ time at the
library often stretches into the early morning hours, many may be
forced to make the late-night walk back to dorms and apartments
alone.

Though Powell Library has a reading room open 24 hours a day
during peak times in the quarter, campus escorts are only available
to students until 1 a.m.

Matt Ellis, assistant manager of community service officer
programs, said the program does not have enough money to run all
night long and, even if it did, would not likely do so due to lack
of demand after 1 a.m.

But many students expressed concern over the time gap in escort
availability.

Amber Smith, a third-year political science student, transferred
to UCLA from Cal State University Long Beach and says she thinks it
is a danger to have campus facilities open and no safety
precautions in place while students walk home.

She explained that at her former school, students could hit a
button from any of the emergency stations on campus and
“someone would show up to walk you to where you needed to
go.”

Many campuses, including others in the University of California
system, have escort services that extend late into the night, if
not until dawn. Some UCLA students said they were surprised to find
out that their campus does not provide the same.

It was not until Diana Williams, a third-year sociology student,
was ready to leave the Powell Reading Room late Wednesday night
that she discovered that the campus escort service stops at 1
a.m.

Williams, who lives in an apartment in the Westwood area, was
under the impression that should she find herself stranded at the
library late at night, she would be able to call for an escort to
ensure her safety as she walked home.

It was not until after 1 a.m. that she discovered that it was
too late to request an escort.

Ellis said for those students who find they have missed the 1
a.m. deadline, there is also a special 2 a.m. escort that picks up
at Powell as part of a schedule.

“A residence hall supervisor comes by at two “¦ if
you miss it, you’re pretty much out of luck,” Ellis
said.

Ellis suggested that students who are concerned about their
safety should use the buddy system.

“Two people walking back together are very unlikely to be
assaulted or even bothered,” he said. “A person walking
alone faces a much higher risk.”

He also suggested that if a companion is not available to stay
at the library late at night, one may consider driving and parking
rather than walking during the late hours.

But Williams does not have a car with her at school and must
walk to the library. She said she often can get rides from friends
but, like Wednesday night, sometimes finds herself without a ride
and without a buddy to walk with.

Though many students insist that a 3 a.m. trip down Bruin Walk
can be frightening, Ellis said the rate of “assault is not
very high” and UCLA is “a fairly safe
campus.”

Even if state funding were to increase dramatically for the
program, Ellis said it is unlikely that the hours would increase
for multiple reasons.

In addition to a low demand after 1 a.m., Ellis cited student
escorts as another reason why the service does not run later. He
explained that it would be hard for students to make their morning
classes if they had to be at work late at night.

Though the daily hours may not run as late as some would like,
Ellis emphasized other aspects of the program.

He said escorts will pick students up at any location within the
boundaries ““ roughly, Wilshire Boulevard, Veteran Avenue,
Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue”“ and walk them to any
other place within the same area. Neither the starting nor
ending point has to be a campus location. The service also runs 365
days a year.

Recent years have seen a decline in student usage of the
program. Ellis credits this to a greater degree of perceived
safety, possibly resulting from cell phone usage.