When it’s dark and creepy out, a campus safe walk is just a call away
Created in 1991, SafeWalk is a CSA service offered to anyone on the University of Guelph campus. On weekdays between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., SafeWalk is run by students and volunteers who are dedicated to making U of G students feel safe.
The Ontarion had the opportunity to learn more about SafeWalk in an interview with its program coordinator, Alex Rozenfeld, and its volunteer and public relations coordinator, Simran Arora.
Rozenfeld, a fourth-year agricultural student, sees to it that SafeWalk runs properly, looks after the organization’s budget, and makes sure that they have the right number of volunteers.
“We’re operating right now with 57 volunteers, and then each semester some volunteers go, and then we recruit new volunteers,” said Rozenfeld.
“…weekdays between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., SafeWalk…”
Arora, a third-year student in health sciences, oversees the training, recruiting, and scheduling of volunteers as well as updating the organization’s social media presence.
“There are two volunteers per shift, explained Arora. “We tend to schedule a boy and a girl, or girl and a girl together.”
When SafeWalk gets a request, a pair of volunteers will accompany the caller to his or her destination anywhere on campus; this includes the OVC, the Arboretum, and the end of the cow path. Off-campus walks must be requested in advance via email.
Volunteers are university students who are trained by SafeWalk.
“We do all the training, so anyone who is a university student can apply. We have an interview process and they have to fill out an application. And then we have training; they do accessibility training, anti-aggression training, and then we train them how to do the walks,” explained Rozenfeld.
“The organization also recommends a free safety app called SafeGryphon…”
SafeWalk volunteers are stationed at the CSA boardroom in the UC and cover one of two shifts: the early shift, from 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., or the late shift, from 11:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. During their shift, volunteers are required to do one walk around campus, which is from the North residences back to the UC, as well as respond to any requests for walks.
Calls to SafeWalk are received by the volunteers on a cell phone. SafeWalk can be reached from a campus phone (x53200) by pushing SafeWalk on any payphone on-campus, or by pressing the talk button on any emergency pole and asking the University of Guelph Campus Community Police dispatcher for a safe walk. The organization also recommends a free safety app called SafeGryphon, which lists their number.
On average, SafeWalk provides one walk per day, so students generally only need to wait for five to ten minutes for SafeWalk volunteers to reach them.
The Ontarion asked both Rozenfeld and Arora why SafeWalk is important to them.
“…It’s really important to help people when they’re feeling unsafe…”
“I think the campus is pretty safe in general, but it’s a service that is available if you need it. So if you do feel uncomfortable, you do want someone to walk you, you know, if it’s dark, or you had a bad day or whatever the reason is that you want to request a walk, I think it’s good that it is there,” said Rozenfeld.
“As an international student myself, I felt like this was a very important organization. It’s a pretty big campus for me, especially [compared to] where I come from. So I felt like this is very, very important for first-years and international students. […] It’s really important to help people when they’re feeling unsafe. I mean, it’s not their fault that they want to go study late, right? So they need to have someone,” said Arora.
With SafeWalk, students certainly do have someone they can rely on when they’re feeling unsafe on campus. Even when SafeWalk is not available between semesters and over the summer, calls are redirected to the Campus Police who will provide a safe walk.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman.