Students can now change light bulbs with a mouse instead of a ladder.

Through the “Lights Out” Web site (www.asg.northwestern.edu/lightsout), members of the Northwestern community can inform the Associated Student Government of burned-out lights on campus.

Launched last week, the Web site features a map of the Evanston campus, which users can click on to identify the location of a broken light. That information is sent to ASG Vice President for Student Services Laura Ellis.

Ellis will tell Facilities Management about any reported burned-out lights. Previously, Ellis said, lights could go unfixed for months if no one informed the university.

“The site is easy to use and easy to manage,” said Ellis, a Weinberg junior. “Lights go out and can be fixed by the end of the week.”

The idea for the site was part of Ellis’s campus safety platform during ASG elections Spring Quarter. Ellis said she hopes the site encourages students to help solve what many consider a lighting problem on campus.

“Students don’t know who to call if a light burns out,” Ellis said. “This allows them to do something about it.”

The idea to encourage students to take an active role in maintaining campus safety came in part from former Vice President for Student Affairs Peggy Barr, Ellis said. Barr had held annual late-night walks around campus with students and Facilities Management officials to assess campus lighting and safety problems.

The new site will give students the satisfaction of making the campus safer for their peers, Ellis said. Students often have complained at ASG meetings about poor lighting around campus.

Brian Teutsch, a Weinberg senior and computer science major, designed the Lights Out site. A link to the site will appear soon on the HereAndNow site (www.hereandnow.northwestern.edu), Ellis said.

Asst. Director of Facilities Management Lonnie Williams on Monday afternoon said he was unaware of the Web site.