Crimson heads campus lighting concerns

The Crimson ticket, who is running in the upcoming IU Student Association election, said it hopes to improve safety on campus by adding new emergency beacons, fixing existing ones and adding more lights in certain campus locations.\nThe plan would work to increase and maintain the emergency beacons on campus, which are outfitted with blue flashing lights and telephones. Crimson Congressional Secretary Candidate Alan Grant, a junior, said the beacons are too few and only a small number of them are working properly.\n"Many of the emergency beacons either do not light or their phones do not work," he said. "A girl looking at the blue safety lights thinking they all work feels a false sense of security."\nCrimson plans to spearhead an IUSA initiative to make students feel safe on campus.\n"Speaking as a student, I believe it is important for IUSA to cover all aspects of student life -- education, social and safety," said Crimson Treasurer Candidate Anne Eichengreen, a junior.\nThe initiative would fall upon IUSA's Department of Health and Safety, which is responsible for coordinating such projects as AIDS Awareness Week, Take Back the Night, Rape Crisis Check-off and Bike Safety.\nThe ticket must still find the best way to obtain the new beacons and lights. They would first lobby the administration for the changes to be made, Grant said.\n"Campus lighting is the responsibility of the administration," he said. "We would go through all possible channels, of course, but we would be willing to pay for them."\n"If IUSA can afford to buy a Corvette, we can definitely do this," Grant added.\nIn addition to addressing emergency beacons, Crimson would like to add lighting in "problem areas" on campus. \n"When we talked to IU students, and we asked them if there were places that they are scared to walk at night," Grant said. "Usually, they would say 'yes' and tell us about more places that need more lighting."\nSpecifically, Crimson said insufficient lighting around Ballantine Hall, behind the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building and next to Woodburn Hall need the most new lighting. They also plan to add lights through Dunn Woods between Third Street and the Indiana Memorial Union.\n"Right now, those woods are really creepy and dark," Eichengreen said. "They are just terrifying to walk through at night."\nCurrently IUSA, Residential Halls Administration and Residential Programs and Services conduct a "night light" walk every semester with IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger, Dean of Students Richard McKaig and other employees of the University. Using light sensitive equipment, they determine if campus paths are adequately lit. \nAction ticket Presidential Candidate Laura Walda, a junior, led one of these walks in the past.\n"The Action group is quite concerned about the lighting on campus and certainly wishes to be an active participant in the 'night light' walk in the upcoming year," she said. "I certainly feel as if the walks are very productive, and the whole administration gets involved."\nWalda said several lights were put in last year because of the walks. However, Crimson said the current system does not do enough to ensure student safety.\n"If the walks were enough, these dark places on campus would not be there," Eichengreen said. "If there was really nothing to do, students wouldn't be telling us that these places are scary to walk through."\nCrimson's overall message is that student safety is just as important as education and that no place is worth living if its paths are dangerous to walk.\n"It's a lot easier for a woman to walk down the street at 2 p.m. than 2 a.m.," Eichengreen said. "No one should ever be afraid to walk anywhere on campus"