Dressed in neon vests and armed with Walkie Talkies, 10 male students stood around a table at the University Police Department Tuesday evening, awaiting directions from the officers.
About 100 people were escorted Monday in the first night of the Safe Walk program, which was created in response to recent attacks on and around campus.
The nightly program includes student volunteers in teams of two to be stationed by Southwest Recreation Center, Library West, Marston Science Library, Broward Dining Center, the Reitz Union and the Hub.
Students can call 392-SNAP to dispatch a volunteer to walk with them. Students can also approach the vested volunteers, who are encouraged to solicit help. Most of the escorts were self-initiated, UPD Capt. Jeff Holcomb said.
Shifts run from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The Interfraternity Council, Collegiate Veterans Society, ROTC and Humans versus Zombies are some of the organizations working to help the university administration and UPD.
Nancy Chrystal-Green, director of Student Activities and Involvement, said Safe Walk expects to have an average of seven teams of two volunteers for each shift.
“The idea came from all of these different entities,” Chrystal-Green said. “We asked, ‘What don’t we have?’ The missing link was the option to walk someone to another building or to their car.”
Holcomb and UPD Sgt. Jeffrey Lamb told the volunteers that their job is not to subdue anything but to be the eyes and ears of campus. They will also be expected to notify dispatch and keep track of whom they are walking, when and where.
“There has been great feedback,” Chrystal-Green said. “People were so appreciative to see the presence of these people willing to help.”
Members of the Interfraternity Council make up most of the volunteers.
Charles Render, a 21-year-old UF information systems senior and member of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, said he signed up to volunteer Thursday night through an email sent from his chapter president.
“It’s a great idea,” he said. “We’re all getting involved and helping students.”
The program will continue as long as there is need, Chrystal-Green said, and it will continue tweaking locations in each shift to meet demands.
“It’s about students helping students,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 9/10/2014 under the headline "Safe Walk program formed on campus"]
