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Safewalk suffers from decline in student volunteers

With the serial rapist sentenced to prison, Safewalk -- the nighttime University service that walks students home -- has experienced a decline in volunteers.

Safewalk is run by students (either two women or one man and one woman) who walk other students home within a 20- minute radius from the Undergraduate Library or Bursley Hall.

Dominick Argumedo, co-coordinator of Safewalk, said the numbers of students interested in working for the service has steadily dropped. Argumedo said there were approximately 200 volunteers in the 1994-95 school year, 175 volunteers this past fall and only 120 volunteers this term, he said.

Safewalk accompanies about 100 students home per week.

LSA junior Tracey Taketa, who uses the service, said, "A lot of people don't know how easy it is to use Safewalk and how accessible their services are.

"Because the majority are women who use it, I like the idea that there is always a woman who walks home with me," she said.

Argumedo attributes the plummet in numbers to bad luck. "We lost publicity from the serial rapist, our banner for the first mass meeting fell down, and our fliers were taken down the same day of the meeting," he said.

Argumedo said Safewalk often gets large numbers of students willing to devote their time, but occasionally they are in need of more volunteers.

Taketa said she called last year to volunteer, but was told there was an abundance of volunteers already.

"I'm sure there are students who were in the same position and wanted to help out last year," she said. "I'm sure if they knew numbers were low, they would call again."

Operating five nights a week -- Sunday through Thursday -- team members are available from 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, the service runs from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Although Safewalk held their second mass meeting for volunteers on Feb. 7, anyone still interested can call the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at 763-5865.