Police officers are no longer the only option for students seeking to be escorted across campus in the wee hours of the morning. Two weeks ago, the Department of Public Safety started offering student escorts in addition to the regular police escorts for anyone journeying through campus late at night.
The service resulted from the work of Senator Margery Yeager, co-chair of the Tufts Community Union Senate's Culture, Ethnicity, and Community Affairs committee. Yeager felt that, in the wake of a rash of hate crimes early last semester, there was need for extra measures to be taken in order to ensure student safety.
The new student service - which provides walking escorts only - is available from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. during weeknights and 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends.
Though Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers escort students 24 hours a day, wait times during the weekends can be lengthy. The student escort services will hopefully alleviate this problem and increase student safety.
"We thought that supplementing [the existing police escorts] during peak hours with student escorts could decrease waiting times when the police are busy, and also make students more likely to use the service," Yeager said.
Seniors Eddie Galbavy and Brian Walsh were selected to be the first escorts by TUPD Sergeant Sonya Rodrigues from only a handful of applicants. Rodrigues interviewed the candidates in the way security guards would be interviewed, and then chose Galbavy and Walsh because of their experience and familiarity with the campus.
"We're very pleased with them," Rodrigues said. "They're both dependable, and we put our trust in them."
Once selected, the escorts went through a basic security officer training program, which consisted of watching a series of videos and using Internet-based learning tools. In addition, they were both taught standard police procedure regarding reports and radio protocol.
Galbavy became interested in the program after reading about the idea in the Daily. He said that the escort's hours were what drew him, but also felt that the job was a good way to "convey my trust in the school, and my confidence that this is a good place."
To request a walking escort, students can call the police department at x7-3030 and leave their name, identification number, and say where they are and where they want to go. When the escort arrives, he will introduce himself, ask to see the student's ID card, and take them to their destination. Escorts will be easily identifiable by their uniform orange student escort vests.
This is not the first time Tufts has offered late-night safety services. Five years ago, the University piloted a free emergency taxi service, but was forced to suspend the service three weeks later due to widespread abuse of the program.
