Women’s Coalition on Tuesday night drafted a petition to improve campus safety in response to the Oct. 8 attack on a Northwestern graduate student that took place on the Lakefill.
“We had to take advantage of the fact that people would actually listen to us this week,” said Laura Millendorf, director of Women’s Co. “We’ve been working on these issues for a while, and we realize that there is small period of time now when police and administrators will actually take action.”
The group of 17 students is asking for an increased annual allocation of funds for lighting, and that the shuttle and Escort Service run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Students also suggested additional advertising to increase awareness of NU safety services, as well as a re-allocation of alumni donations to install additional safety features.
Hoping to prompt a quick response from administrators, Women’s Co also will be passing out fliers to parents arriving for Family Weekend, urging them to question safety precautions taken at NU.
The meeting was only the first step in formulating a detailed petition to present to the Campus Safety and Crime Prevention Committee in November, said Millendorf, a Weinberg junior. Women’s Co will split up into smaller committees to research specific issues and long-term goals, including comparative research of safety on other campuses.
Drafting the petition was a follow-up of Monday’s phone campaign, in which more than 250 students urged administrators to improve lighting and other aspects of campus safety.
Stationed outside Norris University Center on Monday morning, Millendorf and other members of the coalition solicited students to make calls to four top Northwestern administrators who oversee NU’s police, budgets, on-campus lighting and student affairs.
A pre-written statement was prepared for callers, but many opted to voice their own opinions on the issue, Millendorf said.
“They made us aware that it’s a significant issue to them, and we certainly understand and agree,” said Ronald Nayler, associate vice president of facilities management. “We will continue to improve campus safety and to respond to the certain issues that arise.”
In addition to Nayler, students made calls to Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis, Vice President for Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine and UP Chief Saul Chafin.
The call-in almost ended early when Norris administrators asked students to leave the lobby, Millendorf said. But Women’s Co members directed students to wait outside Norris, and the phone calls continued.
Weinberg freshman John Addison enthusiastically called administrators.
“I am not concerned about my own safety, but I have a younger sister who is considering coming here next year, and I’m really uncomfortable with her in such an environment,”Addison said.
Addison said he already had been looking to improve safety at NU even before the attack took place.
“We shouldn’t just think about safety when something bad happens,” Addison said. “I’ve been at other schools in urban settings, and I’m looking into their standards right now. I’d like to see total reform at Northwestern.”
Administrators and secretaries who answered students’ calls were understanding and supportive, Millendorf said.
“I know it was definitely successful in terms of the people we were trying to persuade,” she said. “When I called the administrators as a final closure to the event, they were all really proud of what we accomplished even though we had aggravated them with so many phone calls.”
Many students take advantage of NU’s current safety offerings, including Escort Service between 9 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. every day. But some students say the service needs improvement.
As a result of the crime alerts posted throughout campus, the escort service has received about a 10 percent increase in calls, said Sara Nelson, Escort Service coordinator.
Weinberg senior Michelle Noda said she uses the Escort Service three times a week. But she said the service has too few cars and not enough students working the phone lines.
“One time I used up all my money calling them from a pay phone and I ended up walking home,” Noda said. “I think the Escort Service needs to be more well-known. That way, if more people use it, the demand will hopefully bring more cars.”
No one has been arrested in connection with the Lakefill attack. Addison said he hopes administrators act quickly to improve campus safety.
“For me, the incident with the attempted attack was a wake-up call and it should be a wake-up call for the whole school,” Addison said. “I hope that if some good can come out of this, it is that more people will do something about it.”