The Michigan Daily-- Friday, September 12, 1986 - Page 3
Escort service to
begin soon
By WENDY SHARP
Organizers of Safewalk, the
University's new campus-wide
escort service, last night
interviewed 52 students interested
in working for the program.
The service will begin on Sept.
28 and will be located on the first
floor of the Undergraduate
Library. Students will call a
dispatcher, and an escort team,
wearing orange vests and IDs,
will accompany them wherever
they need to go.
Safewalk is an expansion of
last year's pilot program that
served West Quad, Betsey
Barbour, and Helen Newberry
residence halls.
LSA sophomore Michelle
Missaghieh, one of the
coordinators of Safewalk, said
last year's program was
successful, but "campus-wide
escort service was our goal."
The purpose of Safewalk is not
just to walk students home from
the library, but also for weeknight
trips to the bar or visiting friends
across' campus, Simon said. "It's
for absolutely for any reason and
absolutely any person," she said.
The service will operate
Sunday through Thursday from 8
p.m. until 2 a.m. After 2, campus
security will drive students where
they need to go in an emergency,
said Leo Heatley, the University's
director of safety.
Escort applicants will be
chosen partly on the basis of last
night's group interview, where
they were read a story about
gender relationships. They will
be judged on how well they
articulate their views on sexual
relations, whether they appear
condescending, and what sort of
eye contact they make with other
group members, according to LSA
senior Amy Simon, a coordinator
of the program.
Before the interviews, the
applicants had to certify that they
have never been arrested for
sexual assault, assault, or sexual
harassment, Simon said.
Escort teams will consist of
either two females or one male
and one female, Simon said,
because the team escort system
has worked best at other colleges.
Having at least one woman on
each team will reduce the
possibility of an escort assaulting
a female student-an incident
that occurred at a small eastern
college, Simon said.
Simon said another reason
team escorts will be used is to
dispel the notion that men are the
only ones who can protect women.
"There's a great problem with
nighttime security, and as a
woman, sometimes I feel a bit
worried about walking by
myself," said Debbie Applebaum,
an LSA junior.
"Sometimes people can feel
uncomfortable walking alone at
night," Simon said. "It's a
community response to a
community problem."
Simon said the safety
programs at the University are
far behind those of other
universities. Harvard
University and the University of
Wisconsin, for instance, have
car escort services, Simon said.
She added that a campus-wide
escort service was not
implemented sooner because
students found it difficult to break
through campus bureaucracy and
the University administration
"just didn't know that sexual
assault was a problem."
Vice President for Student
Services Henry Johnson said the
administration wants to help the
escort service in any way it can.
"We have a responsibility to
assist and advise them," he said.
The service is being funded by
the Department of Public Safety,
the Department of Housing
Security, the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness
Center, the Undergraduate
Library, the Michigan Student
Assembly, and the Public Interest
Research Group in Michigan.
DURACELL
_____________Batteries
AAA4-Saver Pack
Special Sale
$2.29each
Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER
Soggy encounter
Emily Awckland and Jennifer Yanover, LSA juniors, have a reunion
yesterday after not seeing each other all summer.
ion utprofsal
approved for Hill
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH/
AMERICAN BAPTIST CAMPUS
CENTER
INVITES ALL STUDENTS
WEDNESDAY
SUNDAYS
By MARC CARREL
A proposed plan to expand the
B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation's
activities building by almost 14,000
square feet has received the
unanimous approval of the Ann
Arbor Planning Commision.
The proposed expansion would
increase the building's space by two
thirds to provide "more room for
classrooms, religious services,
and office space for more than 20
student organizations affiliated
with Hillel," said Michael Brooks,
the director of the University's
largest Jewish student group.
THE EXPANSION PLAN was
endorsed by a local neighborhood
organization which in the past has
opposed general expansion in the
area.
In a letter written to the Ann
Arbor Planning Department, the
North Burns Park Association
wrote that the renovation would be
an improvement for Hillel and the
neighborhood. The letter added that
Hillel will not put any more strain
on neighborhood facilities because
the building will not be used any
more than it is now.
5:30 - 7:00, Student Supper
(complimentary)
9:55 - Worship
11:15 - Student Brunch
(undergraduates)
Come and get acquainted with one another, our program
and opportunities for service and growth.
- Young Adult Fellowship
(graduate students)
"Discovering Yourself" led by Chuck Lindquist
TRANSPORTATION ON SUNDAY:
Murfin and N. Campus Blvd. at 9:40
Alice Lloyd Hall at 9:45
State and University at 9:50
The church and center are located on Huron between
State and Division. Across from Campus Inn on Huron
and Tally Hall on Washington.
663-9376
INTERNATIONAL - INTERRACIAL
DURACELL. WE NEVERSTO
Wecarrya complete lineof
Photo Batteries
PHOTO PROCESSING LAB
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS STOCKHOUSE
in the Michigan Union!
994-0433
'Hillael
wants
expand and en-
hance the services
we provide.'
-Michael Brooks
Hillel director
'ULLEL WANTS to expand to
enhance the services we provide,"
Brooks said. "The building was
built in 1950 and is woefully
inadequate in all areas." He said
the renovation would make the
entire building accessible to
wheelchairs.
The proposal will now go before
the Zoning Board of Appeals, which
must approve four variances from
the city's building code, including
too few parking spaces.
Hillel is expected to go before the
board Sept. 17 to request these
variances.
"Hillel has never contributed to
the severe intensity of land use
problems in our neighborhood," the
letter said.
Donna Richter, the co-chair of
the Association's Planning
Commission, said, "We appreciate
that Hillel consulted with the
neighborhood early on and is
willing to ease any problems.
They've been very good
neighbors."
Concerning the parkin,
problem, another member of the
North Burns park Association's
Planning Commission said,
"Neighbors feel that Hillel never
causes any kind of a parking
problem, and (the proposed
expansion) won't add to
neighborhood parking problems."
Brooks agreed, saying that "the
overwhelming majority of people
our building serves walk, bike, or
take the University night owl
service."
W4 iow
.
y., 1.
T
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I
I
What's happening
around Ann Arbor
Friday
Films
"Head"-7,8:40,10:15 pm,
MLB 3.
"Brazil"-7,9:30 pm, Aud. A.
"Witness"-7:15,9:30 pm,
MLB 4.
"The Big Sleep"-7:30 pm,.
Nat Sci.
"The Maltese Falcon"-9:30
p, Nat Sci.
Speakers
Phyllis Engelbe rt-
"Nicaragua Report," noon,
Guild House.
Meetings
Center for Near Eastern
and North African Studies-
nnAn house. 144 Lane Hall, 4
A.
"What's Up Tiger Lily?"-
8:30,10 pm, Hill St.
"Caligula"-6:40, 9:25 pm,
*MLB 4.
"Monty Python and the
Holy Grail"-7,8:40, 10:20 pm,
MLB 3.
"Blade Runner"-7:15, 9:30
pm, Nat Sci.
Meetings
Psi Upsilon Volleyball
Tournament-1000 Hill, 10 am.
Puerto Rican Welcome
Party-Trotter House, 7 pm.
Rockclimbing Trip to
Grand Ledge, MI.call 764-3967.