Bundled up in jackets, hats and mittens to brave the cold weather, students and administrators searched the campus last Thursday night for possible safety risks.
On the annual safety walk--organized by Duke Student Government's facilities and athletics committee--participants split into four student-led groups touring Central Campus, East Campus, Science Drive and the West-Edens Link and Blue Zone. All groups identified overgrown shrubbery and lack of lighting and blue lights--which identify emergency phone locations--as the most glaring impediments to campus safety.
Near the WEL, students labeled burnt-out lights, loose tiles and uneven pavement as potential hazards.
DSG President Joshua Jean-Baptiste and junior Donald Wine, a DSG legislator, suggested increasing late-night patrols in the Blue Zone, especially in the back lots. Lieutenant Richard Hathaway of the Duke University Police Department said he thought a lack of manpower prevented the police department from increasing those patrols.
Hathaway recommended replacing emergency phones and blue lights with the new technology installed near the WEL, where a phone call activates a strobe light at the top of the pole.
"I can sit up here on the bike by the corner of Wannamaker and Towerview and see those strobes going.... it draws attention," Hathaway said. "The WEL is state-of-the-art as far as lighting and security. While they're doing this stuff [with the WEL], now's the time to do it."
Group members also supported Hathaway's suggestion to convert a beaten path behind the parking lots near Wallace Wade Stadium into a bicycle path that would be both paved and well-lit.
Catherine Reeve, director of parking and transportation services, disagreed, and said the long walk from the Blue Zone causes more problems. "Lighting is not the issue," Reeve said.
Joe Jackson, manager of grounds and sanitation, said a city ordinance--requiring a certain amount of shrubbery in parking lots--made it difficult to increase visibility by removing bushes. "But it doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a safe environment. We just have to find the right combination of equipment and planning," Jackson said.
The Central Campus group also found that lighting was a big issue. "I was trying to take notes, and I couldn't see the page in some of these lots," said Cliff Davison, a senior and DSG vice president for facilities and athletics.
Troy Clair, DSG vice president for student affairs, said he and Bill Burig, assistant dean of residence life, are creating a memo to encourage residents to increase visibility by turning on their patio lights.
Rob Saunders, Graduate and Professional Students Council president, recommended increased lighting in parking lots along Science Drive, his group's route. Another concern was potential pedestrian accidents on Frank Bassett Drive, which Saunders described as a narrow street with no pedestrian paths.
On East, walkers examined the campus periphery and jogging path and noticed trees covering emergency lights behind dormitories. They also recommended installing lights on the path between the White Lecture Hall and Epworth Dormitory.
Students can help increase safety on campus by notifying their resident advisors if they notice any lights burnt out for more than a week, said Aurel Selezeanu, assistant director of electrical services.
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