IUSA pushes campus safety, with internet as forum

The IU Student Association is attempting to address campus safety concerns online. The student government has created an e-mail account that answers questions and concerns from students.

IUsafety@indiana.edu is maintained by IUSA’s Campus Safety task force, a division of student government created to deal with campus safety issues — ranging from traffic and pedestrian concerns to nighttime issues.

The e-mail address has been available as a resource for students to communicate specific safety problems to IUSA since early October.

Chief of the IUSA campus safety task force Scott Williamson said IUSA can direct concerns to the administration.

“We are in a good position to take those questions to the people in the University who can address them,” Williamson said.

The e-mail address also serves the task force by providing ideas for improvements.
“We have 40,000 students on campus and many more faculty on staff. The more we can get all of those groups involved, the easier the solutions become,” IUSA Chief of Staff Neil Kelty said in a press release.

Since its establishment, Williamson said only a few students have used the account to express concerns.

Rather than traffic safety, Williamson said most messages dealt with residence hall safety and lighting on North Jordan Avenue.

The e-mail account is part of IUSA’s overall response to rising campus concern about student safety.

The issue has also been addressed in various ways by IU’s administration.
Several pedestrian accidents, including the death of a student hit by a car on Fee Lane, prompted Provost Karen Hanson to establish the Bloomington Campus Safety Task Force last November.

The task force made several recommendations, including the implementation of several new island-model crosswalks across campus.

Williamson said students also expressed concerns regarding sexual assault on campus, but IUSA hopes to receive more e-mails in the future.

Junior Chris Pennington said he hasn’t yet heard of the e-mail account.

“There needs to be more awareness,” Pennington said.

Sophomore Kent Parton said he’d be willing to use the account to express concerns.

“If there was something that stood out as a potential danger and I thought I would be helping someone, I would ask,” Parton said.