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It has been over a month since UIC welcomed students to a new semester and not much has changed except students are now concerned for their safety. The weekend before classes started many students shared their unease about returning to school after the horrible events that happened last semester on the Wildfire App.
Allegedly, new and better improvements have been added for students’ safety this semester. However, in less than a month various incidents occurred including a shooting at UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop, a murder near UIC, and a sexual abuse case in the James Stukel Towers. Details about each occurrence were shared through the Wildfire App and other campus safety resources.
Students travel through campus trying to balance their personal lives, passing their classes, and staying safe and we all tend to forget. It is important to keep the campus safety resources in mind.
Here are some of the “enhanced safety and security measures on campus.”
Parking Garages and Outdoor Security
We will continue 24/7 parking garage security patrols and extended operating hours of the outside security positions daily from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Lighting Surveys
Campus community members are invited to join our student patrol when they conduct campus lighting surveys the first and third Sunday of every month. Please contact Sergeant Michael Mesce at mmesce2@uic.edu if you are interested in joining along.
UIC SAFE app
During the Fall semester, the campus launched an important new safety tool — the UIC SAFE mobile app. The app is available for any iOS and Android device and was designed to complement ongoing efforts by the university to promote campus safety and emergency preparedness. We encourage you to download the app and take advantage of valuable safety features.
Next month we will be releasing a user experience update to the UIC SAFE app with additional safety resources, how-to videos and performance improvements for an even better experience.
UIC Night Ride
UIC Night Ride is a free, on-demand transportation service for employees and students that operates daily from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Any student, staff or faculty member can use their NetID and password to create an account and use the TransLoc Rider app to request shuttles that travel in designated service areas surrounding the campus. You can also call 312-996-6800 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. to schedule a ride.
The average expected wait time is less than 8 minutes and we collect real-time feedback to continuously improve operations.
UIC Safe Walk
Safe Walk is a free walking escort service 24/7. A member of student patrol or a police officer will be dispatched to escort you to your campus destination. To schedule a walking safety escort, call 312-996-2830. The average expected wait time is less than 15 minutes.
I haven’t used any of these resources before so I can’t say whether they work or not. As mentioned above, students have a lot on their mind and in case of emergency, anyone can forget to dial a phone number, or distinguish when something is dangerous or just weird. Let’s just keep reminding ourselves that, along with passing our classes, we need to stay safe.
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