Safewalk struggling to survive

Disinterest and lack of funds kill program

nyone hoping to use the Student Un- A=: safe walk program this year may be disappointed. Inadequate funding and the low number of people who used safewalk services last year are two of the major reasons that the project is in jeopardy.

Andrew MacPherson, Vice President Inter- nal of the Student Union (S.U.), said that it was difficult to find volunteers last year so Campus Police officers escorted people. “...Campus Police were hired for the safe walk and that costa lot of money,” an expense that the S.U. cannot afford to pay this year.

The other main problem with the safe walk program was the low number of people who used it. John McEntee, Director of Security at

UPEI, blamed that on the timing and the adver- tising of the project (it wasn’t set up untilthe end of the first semester): “It [the safe walk pro- gram] is a good thing if it is used more, but it certainly wasn’t used enough. From Christmas to April, there were only 16-18 calls and some of those were from repeat users.”

MacPherson also felt the timing was bad. He feels that if the project had started at the beginning of the year more people would have wanted to volunteer, and more people would have used it.

Whose responsibility is it to provide this service? Should students have to rely on each other to be safe? Or should the university be providing this service to the students?

Aids, bungee jumping, time management and sumo wrestling...

an intriguing combination of events at UPEI’s frosh week

one are the days of hazing and initiation G at UPEI. Past orientations usually in-

cluded embarrassing rituals that were

supposed to make frosh feel welcome or “at

home”, but usually did the opposite.

There is a new focus for orientation this year.” says Michelle MaCallum, orientation week organizer. “I was really excited about the things we could do...the planning and research stages took a long time.”

The new focus this year is on familiarizing first year students with the common problems at university. It also helps to educate frosh on how to deal with these problems.

Organizers are hoping that the information sessions will lead to greater awareness of the numerous difficulties university students face.

There were four information sessions on Monday, Sept. 6. They dealt with AIDS aware- ness, sexual violence, and date rape.

One fourth year student thinks that the

new format is great. “It is so much more useful than just playing games...frosh really need to know about these issues, because for some, arriving at university is almost a culture shock.”

Organizers were not too serious, though; fun and games were part of the program, too. Tuesday, frosh attended a boot camp in the rugby field. Activities included bungee jumping, sumo wrestling, anda velcro wall, to namea few. It was a great opportunity to vent those regis- tration frustrations!

Monday night there was a Much Music video dance, Tuesday night an animal house toga party and Wednesday was comedy night. To- night (Thursday) you'll be able to catch the student union wet/dry main event at the barn.

Comments on this year’s orientation would be greatly appreciated. You can direct your opinions to the X-Press mailbox or to any orientations staff.

; REBECCA MOORE

Women’s Studies professor Vaughn Jelliffe believes that it should be the mandate of the university to providea safe environment for the students and staff. “It should be the responsibil- ity of the university, not the students.”

McEntee also believes that it should be the responsibility of the security department. “If the money was there we would do it [providea safe walk program].”

As it stands now, security will definitely walkyou to your car or your residence if you call

“and ask ( the numbers are 566-0373 or 566-

0384). They also strongly recommend that people walkin pairs or in groups, and stay on the well-lit paths.

REBECCA MOORE

Lighting was improved on campus over the summer, and there are five new alarm posts on campus. These lights have a button that triggers an alarm in the security office. This also activates a rotating red light to attract attention, and the posts have a two-way speaker system so you can speak to security and tell them your situation.

September 9, 1993/X-Press/5