Every hour of every day, students, faculty and staff are on the move at UCLA. One could almost say it’s the campus that never sleeps. Even after the last class has been let out, UCLA and Westwood are alive with people and places to go, and students need improved safety conditions to keep them safe at night.
This past week, there was an attempted kidnapping at 7:35 a.m. A couple of days later, there was an attempted robbery at 10 p.m. on a weeknight.
What stands out the most about these incidents is the time at which they occurred ““ normal hours for students to be walking around campus and its surrounding area.
Between study groups that stretch for hours, grabbing a late dinner with friends, job obligations and the allure of Powell Library’s 24/7 policy during midterms and finals weeks, students walk around UCLA and Westwood at all hours of the day and night.
The university police offer the escort service, where people can call them at 310-794-9255, and be walked home by a Community Service Officer. However, the service is only offered between dusk and 1 a.m.
But what about the students who return home outside those hours? People who work as waiters often stay at the restaurant over an hour after the last customers leave. Late-night projects and Greek events can last until the early hours of the morning. The bars in Westwood don’t close until 2 a.m., and movie theaters and some other establishments in the Village are open even later. Student journalists here at the Daily Bruin are sometimes here until 2, 3 or 4 a.m., wandering home bleary-eyed, exhausted and in danger.
On the other hand, students who work at Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Audio Visual Services are up and on their way to work before the sun is up. As the attempted kidnapping suggested, daylight is not always a deterrent for predators.
Women are not the only ones who should utilize the current escort service. The victim of the attempted robbery was male. Though many men want to believe they could fight off an attacker with fists and adrenaline, the human body is sadly unable to fend off blades and bullets.
Even in light of recent events, the community can generally be safe, but the university should still work together with the UCPD and the student government to develop a program to keep students safe while going about their business. USAC president Gabe Rose has already endorsed such an idea.
The UCPD does patrol the area at all hours, which gives students a feeling of general security, but the cops can’t be everywhere at the same time.
The CSO service should remain open at least until 3 or 4 a.m., preferably until sunrise. It would be especially helpful to offer this during midterm and finals week, when students are in the libraries until that last can of Red Bull wears off.
Basically, students should utilize the current escort system that we do have, to encourage them to offer their help at any time during the night.
In the meantime, a plan needs to be set in motion to increase security for students walking alone at night. When both sides come together and say what they want, it greatly increases the chance of getting things done.
Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board.