Wednesday night around 10 p.m. a female student was seen walking back to the residence halls when two young men began harassing her.
“I was going to use an officer escort back to my room, but they were taking two other girls to the parking lot so I walked back myself,” said the female student who preferred to remain anonymous. “I walked past the guys and I could hear them say inappropriate comments, but I brushed it off until they started to follow me and shout at me to slow down so they could talk to me,” she continued.
At that point, the student says she dialed her friend on her cell phone to have someone to talk to as she walked as quickly as possible to get back to the dorms before the two men caught up.
“Thankfully I reached my roommate before the two guys got in their car and sped off, yelling out the window as they left,” she said. “I should have called for a police escort.”
CSULB’s campus offers numerous services to students, faculty, and staff to reduce the amount of negative incidents on campus including police escorts available late into the night.
The night escort service, also known as the Community Service Officer Program, provides safe transportation for anyone on campus in need of extra security.
“I use the campus police escorts once a week,” said student Brittney Seeley, 20. “I don’t know if it prevents incidents, but I think it makes people feel more secure.”
While these services are provided, at times they are not as practical as they seem.
“I’ve sat there for 20 to 25 minutes waiting for an officer before and I think in that time something can happen,” said Seeley.
In September alone there are 23 reports of suspicious vehicles, one report of stalking and one report of assault and battery so far. The services provided by campus police may help hinder many harmful situations, but they do not prevent them. Safety on campus, especially at night, is stressed.
You may request an escort Sunday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. by using a public pay phone's University Police button or by dialing (562) 985-4101 from a pay phone or cell phone (5-4101 from on-campus phones). Campus Police can be reached after hours to provide the same services to individuals in need of them.
Posts
