This summer saw several armed robberies on College Hill, causing serious safety concerns about areas directly around campus. Both the Department of Public Safety and the Providence Police Department have responded admirably, promoting shuttle services and increasing security presence. Yet gaps in the system remain, particularly for older students who travel to and from off-campus areas at night. Consequently, we urge the University to increase the scope and breadth of shuttle and SafeWalk services.
This concern affects a significant portion of the student body: As much as between 70 and 80 percent of the senior class, and as many as 10 percent of juniors live off campus during any given year. Furthermore, other students may travel to and from off-campus residences for club meetings, group projects or social events. Many students use University buildings such as the Production Workshop and Machado House, both of which stand on the fringes of Brown’s campus.
Several highly publicized crimes have even happened on the main campus itself, including one assault and robbery directly outside of the Gate last January. Even though violent crime reported to DPS actually dropped this past academic year, the highly publicized nature of certain incidents contributed to increased reported levels of student unease about walking alone at night.
These concerns could and should serve as a catalyst for the better — an outcome of these upsetting incidents could be that a greater proportion of students avail themselves of campus safety resources.
Since the spike in publicized incidents last year, DPS has repeatedly emailed the student body, urging undergraduates to use its services. Students on campus can call to request a SafeWalk anywhere within the bounds of the campus at night, and students living off campus can use Brown onCall (formerly known as SafeRide onCall) to travel from campus buildings to their registered off-campus addresses. In addition, the newly established Brown Evening Shuttle runs until 3 a.m. and provides service to distant on-campus locations including the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center, Young Orchard and Machado.
These services are welcome, and the recent improvements are helpful, but holes remain that must be filled. OnCall usually takes about 15 minutes to arrive, but this wait can be delayed in certain high-use periods (for example, during rainstorms or finals). Furthermore, students using onCall must register for the shuttle and cannot board without making advance arrangements. The Brown Evening Shuttle rectifies these concerns, as it travels on a continual loop, but it does not go past Cooke Street, forgoing the areas around Governor Street that house many Brown students. Expanding the shuttle route just a few blocks, or designating one shuttle to go from a centralized on-campus location (say, the Sciences Library) on a loop of the East Side would help assuage student concerns.
Jonathan Abrams ’15, who was robbed at gunpoint this past summer just a few blocks from campus, reported to The Herald that he was told by DPS not to walk around off-campus areas after 10 p.m. and to use one of the transportation services instead. We consider this to be sound advice, and we urge the University to increase campus shuttle services to make this option more feasible for students.
Brown must ensure that students, workers and faculty members who live on and immediately around campus are given the resources to be safe and secure.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Daniel Jeon and Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.
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