OPINION & EDITORIAL
UnSAFE
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- A security fee-for-all (December 11, 2007)
- Farewell, Chancellor (December 10, 2007)
- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Keep SAFE accountable (October 29, 2003)
- Disgruntled Hitchhiking (September 8, 2004)
- Ticket to ride (December 6, 2005)
- UW Transportation hurts SAFE services (December 1, 2005)
- Cut SAFEwalk loose (October 23, 2002)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Monday, September 15, 2003
Students in need of a safe ride home at night this year may be surprised to learn that the SAFE program has drastically reduced some of its most frequently used services. The number of SAFErides per student was cut from eight to four per month, and a later start time for the services was implemented. Yet these changes had no effect on the inefficient, lesser-used SAFEwalk program and were made with little input from students. The changes did, however, affect the popular SAFEride program.
These cuts do not seem to coincide with recent statistics. Last year, 21,602 SAFErides were given, compared to only 1,170 SAFEwalks. SAFEride therefore accounted for 94.9 percent of all SAFE-program usage during the 2002-03 year. The organizers of the SAFE program must reorganize their priorities so the programs students use are expanded while those they do not are trimmed.
One result of greater use for the late-night cab service in recent years is increasing costs. According to SAFE’s Student Services Finance Committee funding application, SAFE requested an astounding 30 percent budget increase. The numbers in their budget packet did not add up, but SSFC recognized the high usage of this valuable service and granted SAFE services a 27 percent increase, bringing their total budget to $242,863.
Following this increase, SAFE sent students an e-mail this summer announcing a 50 percent reduction in SAFErides per month and a 25 percent reduction in hours the service is available. How and why reductions are made to a popular program after an increase in its budget remains a mystery.
After the announcement of the cuts, SAFE sent a survey to students asking for input on SAFE services usage. Why did they not ask for this input before deciding on cuts to the service? If this affects even only 5 percent of usage, that still means over 1,000 rides will be hurt by this sudden policy change.
We made our best efforts to determine the reasoning behind this cut in services immediately after a large budget increase. We had a meeting tentatively scheduled with Jane Goemans, director of SAFE transportation services, to ask just this question. But once Goemans was told of the specific issues we wanted to discuss, she suddenly would not confirm our meeting, respond to our e-mails or return our phone messages. Since the SAFE program has enacted a radical cut to a popular service, Goemans must be willing and ready to defend the decision to any student who inquires.
We do know this:
If cuts are necessary, they should be announced a year in advance, so students do not make housing decisions dependent on SAFErides home from the library or a late class eight nights a month, only to find right after move- in that half of their rides have been cancelled. Students should have a say in these issues before, not after, a decision has been made.
Campus safety should be a major concern for everyone on campus, including the administration, ASM, SAFE Services and every student. Cutting safe alternatives to getting home, whether from a late night of studying or a late night of drinking, is a mistake in and of itself; particularly as this program was affordable, useful and popular. But to do so with an increasing budget and without explanation is intolerable.
Where are SAFE’s priorities? Is it funding programs that are inefficient and expensive, like SAFEwalk? Or providing a meaningful service to students that actually improves campus safety, like SAFEride?
