Brown and White Vol. 127 no. 9

              The Brown and White
Vol. 127 No. 9
Friday, October 3, 2014
‘All the Lehigh News First’
The lack of sidewalks avail­able for pedestrians on parts of Lehigh’s campus — most notably on “The Hill” — have sparked safety concerns among students who frequently walk from lower campus to their homes in that area.
According to Gary Falasca, director of facilities, although the Campus Master Plan addresses the need for more sidewalks in cer­tain parts of campus, it is more of a guideline as opposed to a specific blueprint.
Falasca said the suggested side­walks were being evaluated before the associate vice president of facilities left Lehigh, and will be re-evaluated once the seat is filled.
“There are certainly areas on the Packer Campus that would benefit from additional walkways and crosswalks,” Falasca wrote in an email to The Brown and White. “Lehigh has made a con­certed effort for the past 10 years to return the heart of the Packer Campus to a car-free zone, result­ing in the network of pedestrian walks that exist today.
See WALK Page 3
By GABY MORERA
Assistant News Editor
Walkways to be revamped throughout campus
The Lehigh Police Department-run escort system, though a long-stand­ing measure of campus safety, con­tinues to face ambiguity surround­ing its offerings, as well as student expectations.
According to Lehigh Chief of Police Ed Shupp, misunderstandings about the escort service are not new occur­rences. Perhaps the greatest student misconception is the very nature of the service, in that individuals think they will be driven to their destina­tion.
“They think it’s a taxi service,” Shupp said. “(…) When people call and find out that it’s a walking escort, many times they say, ‘Well, I can walk alone.’”
Contrary to some student beliefs, the system is strictly a walking escort, where individuals can be accompanied by an officer, guard, event or department staff.
But even with the various sources by which an individual can be escort­ed, Shupp highlighted the impor­tance of using the resources at hand.
The TRACS service, Shupp said, is the first safety measure by which students should seek to be accompa­nied when traveling between desti­nations. He noted the escort service is in addition to the TRACS system that is in place and that if a student requests an escort and the vans are running, the individual will be direct­ed to utilize that resource instead.
“We try to utilize the tools that are out there already,” Shupp said. “That’s just a waste of resources when you already have a van that is driving in front of the library, or right in front of Dravo.”
Gorgi Pavlov, ’14, a current doctor­al student, said that he had attempt­ed to use TRACS prior to calling for an escort at 2 a.m., but was told by the driver that the ride was full, and he could not get one. After contacting a dispatcher via the Blue Light sys­tem, he was informed that he could not be provided an escort while the buses were still running.
“I don’t think students are well-in­formed about the escort service,” Pavlov said in regards to the sys­tem’s conditions.
Emily Levenson, ’16, said that she did not view TRACS and the escort service in the same way.
“Walking to TRACS itself isn’t the safest thing,” Levenson said. “A lot of the time you have to walk several blocks or several streets.”
Shupp said that when an escort is needed, an officer must be pulled from his regular patrol, as no one is on-call to receive and immediately respond to requests.
“Depending on the type of call an officer is on, a person could be wait­ing for a period of time,” Shupp said.
He also noted the need to priori­tize call responses, as officers could be attending to other serious mat­ters when they are dispatched to an escort-seeking student.
Pavlov said that in a situation where a student feels threatened and calls for an escort, but is then redi­rected, the time it takes to wait for the bus would make for an uncom­Kerry
Mallett, ’15/B&W Staff
Dan Dunham, ’18, leaves Linderman Library on Wednesday. The escort and blue light systems are in place to help students get home safely.
By JACQUELINE TENREIRO
Lead News Editor
LEHIGH ESCORT SERVICES: Experiences vs. Expectations
Summer Sullivan, ’17/B&W Staff
A new walkway behind Williams Hall sits amidst ongoing construction. The walkway is part of the master plan initiative to make campus safer for pedestrians.
See ESCORT Page 2