Darkness Surrounds
  by Angela Wunder

Walking from my night class in Rahme to my dorm room in Graham Hall, I noticed the vast darkness that this campus contains. I was walking alone, and I did not feel safe.

The average student, male or female, is out and about on campus frequently in the night hours. Whether it is for night classes, organization meetings, work meetings, or work in general, most of us walk in the dark.

On my way home that night, I walked only on the college’s paved sidewalks and main roads, and yet there were still large areas of darkness. Looking around I took notice of where they were; the hillside between Olin and Stoddard, the grass between Stoddard and Hudson, the North Quad: are all poorly lit.

And What about between Hudson and Ludlum, Jones and Butler, or behind Dawes, these areas are extremely dark as well.

I understand the bright lights cannot be placed in the middle of these open areas for beatification reasons. But I do think that, better, brighter, and more efficient lighting can be located close by.

Although I am safety conscious enough not to walk through these open areas, that doesn't mean someone else could not be hiding in them. What if they attack me and take me into that open darkness, still no one can see me.

Calling security, is the best suggestion I have recieved. First, you wait for them to get to you, hopefully they are not out on another call, and then they escort you to wherever you happen to be going. This wait is almost a waste of my time. 

Also, there is only one security person on-call each night. When you call security after midnight your call is directed to the RD phone. For which at any given hour, they must climb out of bed and come and get you.

Then there is the suggestion of driving if I do not feel safe. Are you kidding me? One, have you seen gas prices lately. And if that is not enough, how lazy should I have to be to drive around on this small campus.

So, for the people that do not share my concern, and the ones that say this campus is extremely well lit, are your eyes open? Take a walk at night and see the darkness.

Or you can wait and sit around and do nothing like you have been. Did you know that one of the orange covered-walk lights cost five hundred dollars? That is almost the same cost of living in an air-conditioned dorm.

Unlike the AC, lights are necessities, and something will be done to fix the lighting problem. There is no excuse that you can tell me to justify the lack of lights on this small campus. 

Charge the five hundred dollars to my account, and put at least one more light up, in my name. I know there are others that feel this way too, put a light up for each of them, and then we can begin to say that this campus is extremely well lit. So finally something will be done.