Officials will hold a forum on safety in the Langdon Street area Tuesday night in response last Monday’s robbery outside the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house.

University of Wisconsin Student Activities Coordinator Barb Kautz sent an e-mail out to all Greek presidents last week to inform them of the event.

The forum was scheduled after a Kappa Alpha Theta member was held at gunpoint while she was getting out of her car on the 100 block of Langdon Street. The two men robbed her of some cash and her laptop.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam, who will be a panelist, said officials are going door-to-door on Langdon Street to inform non-Greeks about the event, adding the Offices of the Dean of Students is “willing to work with anybody.”

“The hope is to talk about what are some possible ideas in which we can proactively address many of the issues that we’ve talked about,” Berquam said.

Ideas include increasing police presence in the Langdon area, which Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, said is crucial in areas with high pedestrian traffic.

“It’s more important to have police not looking for underagers at bars, raiding bars, but rather, out making sure the streets are safe,” Judge said.

Berquam said she has been near Langdon many times in recent weeks and has noticed quite a few police cruisers in the area.

She questioned the idea that more cops always means less crime.

“I know having additional police does make people feel more secure; I don’t know if that’s a reality or not, but it certainly makes people feel more secure,” Berquam said.

She added officials may try to canvass the area to find poorly lit areas and improve lighting. Fraternities, sororities and private apartments in the area may also consider installing cameras.

Judge recently introduced the Downtown Residential Lighting Initiative, which would allow downtown residents to apply for a grant to light up areas alongside and behind their buildings.

“In my communicating with police, one of the best ways we can help the pedestrian experience is to make sure there is no place somebody can hide,” Judge said.

The event is scheduled to take place in the Media Room of the Red Gym Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. All students are encouraged to attend.

Any person with information that could help the robbery investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.