Photo // Claire McKenna
HOUSING AT NIGHT. As the days get shorter and night comes faster, it is important that IU South Bend students stay safe.
By: Claire McKenna
Staff-Writer
On Nov. 11, the Student Government Association’s Safety and Wellness Committee hosted a safety walk at River Crossing Campus Housing.
Similar to their previous safety walk on the main campus, students, faculty and staff were able to meet with IUPD to walk around housing after dark and discuss any potential hazards or safety concerns. In addition to three IUPD officers, many SGA members attended, along with Resident Assistants and Scott Strittmatter, director of housing and student life. When the group convened, Strittmatter encouraged students to download RAVE Guardian, a safety app that includes features like dialing for help quickly.
Starting at 7 p.m., SGA member Grace Merrill led the group around housing as they looked for any hazards, concerns or improvements. Not many were found; there were no lights out in the parking lot and no broken card scanners on the residence halls.
IUPD officers cautioned the group about dangers on the path closest to the river, mentioning that homeless individuals may sleep below the bridge on Ironwood Drive and have sometimes solicited passersby. IUPD said they are working on clearing the brush in front of the river to improve visibility in the area.
The group then headed over to the West side of housing to continue their observations. Housing is currently undergoing renovations of power washing and painting, so there were some tools and ladders beside some of the buildings. The IUPD officers saw those as hazardous if someone used them for the wrong reasons, but the group saw nothing else that could be improved or fixed.
The group unanimously agreed that housing, the bridge and main campus could benefit from more security cameras.
“This side was much safer than campus,” Officer Garcia mentioned. “It is often patrolled so that probably helps a lot.”
If you see any improvements or renovations needed on the housing side of campus, you can make a report by emailing [email protected].