Northwestern’s Associated Student Government hosted its annual lighting walk Tuesday, leading two groups of ASG senators, University Police and members of the Facilities Management department along blocks west of Sheridan Road to analyze the strength of lighting in public areas.
The event took on added significance after a quarter that has been marked by safety issues on and off campus. Seven robberies have been reported in the area around campus since Oct. 22. Despite this, only one student not affiliated with ASG attended the walk.
ASG’s Vice President of Community Relations Steven Monacelli, a former DAILY staffer, said he was not concerned with the low attendance because it is more important to have trained professionals analyzing lighting. The walk, Monacelli said, emphasizes the importance of lighting in the area surrounding NU to city officials.
“This event has been something that ASG has been doing as an ongoing effort to push the city to implement some better lighting off campus,” Monacelli said. “Just recently, the City Council passed a lighting project program in the 5th Ward that increases the wattage of lighting, so that’s something we’d like to think that our efforts contributed to.”
Monacelli also called on the administration and University Police to help increase safety in the area. He identified the areas outside Scott Hall and Searle Hall as particularly in need of more police presence.
“It would be beneficial if (the administration) took some recommendations from us in terms of where lighting seems particularly low, at least on campus,” he said. “In terms of University Police, just upping physical presence in some problem areas would be immediately beneficial.”
Daniel McAleer, the deputy chief for University Police, said the department is constantly working to survey dark areas on campus.
“Our officers and our CSOs are always identifying broken lights or lights that have gone out so that they can be repaired,” McAleer said. “Obviously we do think that enhanced lighting is one of the things that can help in the prevention of criminal acts.”
In response to safety concerns, ASG passed a resolution last week calling for lighting improvement in the Sorority Quads, which the lighting walk explored. One group found several lights on the east end of the Quads that were dim or out. Monacelli identified the Quads as a particular area of urgency.
“At the very least, we should have a campus that’s safe and secure,” Monacelli said. “There’s so many people that traffic through there that it has to be a priority.”
Brian Kittle, the assistant director of Facilities Management Operations, said students need to do their part to ensure safety.
“If students continue to patrol, let us know when lights are out, we’ll let Evanston know, they’ll come out and correct them,” Kittle said. “That’s really just everyone taking an eye and letting us know what’s going on.”
