Changes proposed by Public Safety and the Shuttle Services to increase student safety in light of recent events will cut shuttle hours while increasing Jayride hours, leaving both the students and administration cautiously optimistic about student safety.
The Creighton Shuttle, which previously operated from 7:05 a.m. to 1 a.m., will now run until 9 p.m. Jayride – a free transportation service for Creighton students to directly call – will expand its hours of operation, running from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and its areas of service, taking students to downtown apartments as well as the previous shutte locations.
Additionally, Public safety officers will be assigned to Heider and Kenefick Halls from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
“I like that Public Safety officers are going to be more available to students. I like that they’re going to be positioned outside the dorms that are farther away from campus,” said Sarah Starkey, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I appreciate that they are making Jayride more of a priority, knowing that a lot of people don’t use the shuttle late at night but, at the same time, a lot of people do not want to use Jayride. People do not want to wait for Jayride… and it shouldn’t have taken extra incidents for them to actually get to this point of trying to protect our students.”
Campus Safety Bulletins are usually sent out to inform students of recent criminal activity on campus, but some students feel as if Public Safety hasn’t been protecting and informing students the way it should.
“For example the girl in my sorority who was followed by someone on campus and they [Public Safety] basically told her it was just someone flirting with her and they couldn’t do anything about it and she felt like campus should be notified that that happened to her, at least so that other people could be aware,” said Kyleigh Smart, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“So I think that was definitely a little shocking…I don’t know what they could have done besides send out an email like an alert, but it is a little disheartening to see someone that I know be told ‘sorry there’s nothing we can do about it.’”
Public Safety, at least for its part, is hoping students will feel safer with the new measures. These include increasing Jayride’s hours to start at 9 p.m. and end at 2 a.m., and adding an additional Jayride vehicle.
“The University has been working with the Creighton Students Union, Student Life, Public Safety and the Transportation office to enhance the shuttle system [and] expand the Jayride program,” said Cindy Workman, director of public relations, in an email.
According to Shuttle Services director Mark Simanek, Jayride is expanding to about 70 hours per week to compensate for the shuttles’ reduced hours, which will begin on Nov. 28. The east shuttle will now run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday while the west shuttle will run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Students will also be able to pick up Jayrides by Deglman and the Harper Center without necessarily calling ahead, said Richard McAuliffe, director of Public Safety.
“I don’t know of any college campus that doesn’t have crime and even though there are campuses that are more suburban, perhaps than Creighton, crime is an issue, it’s always prevalent,” said McAuliffe. “So all you can do is remove the opportunity for things to happen.”