Acting on suggestions from students, the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) and the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) are working to identify and improve poorly-lit areas on campus to ensure student safety.
Penn State Police and OPP's Department of Environmental Health and Safety invited UPUA members on their semi-annual survey of the campus Thursday, setting out to gauge what areas of campus have insufficient lighting.
The survey is done once during the fall semester and again in the spring, Environmental Health and Safety Program Manager Curtis Speaker said, and is based on feedback his department receives from students and other members of the university who express the need for better lighting in specific areas of campus.
UPUA Student Life and Diversity Chairman Christian Ragland and Director of Student Life Josh Crawford took part in the survey to represent the student body.
Crawford (sophomore-crime, law and justice) said he recently received a complaint from a female student about lighting on McKean Road behind Simmons Hall.
Ragland (junior-political science) also focused on the pathway between the Boucke Building and the Ritenour Building, as well as the sidewalks outside of the Henderson Building on College Avenue. Ragland said those areas will now be looked into by Penn State Police and OPP to determine what precautions should be taken.
Student safety has become a major UPUA initiative this year, Crawford said. Ragland added he was glad to have the opportunity to collaborate with OPP and Penn State Police to show them what changes are needed on campus.
"They don't live on campus, so they don't know what's going on at two and three in the morning," Ragland said. The university will pay for any lighting installments, Crawford said, so there is no need for legislation to be bought to the UPUA assembly.
