This letter is in response to a letter written in the Feb. 10 edition of Flyer News entitled 'Campus safety still a serious issue for students, improvements are always welcome.'

There were a few of the things in this letter that were far from the truth, and their research was way off and, I believe, fabricated. I know plenty of people who work with Public Safety and I also work in two organizations run by Public Safety.

The first problem brought up in the letter written by Mr. Wiersma et al, was the issue of a student walking into his room. First problem I see with this: who would leave the door to their room unlocked when you retire for the night?

The letter goes on to say, 'What about if they were walking around campus and they got hurt, would there be a blue light'? They then address the fact of an alleged comment that 90 percent of the blue light calls are false alarms. The reason why most of the blue light calls are false alarms are because of intoxicated people hitting them thinking it is funny late at night.

However this being true, every blue light activation is checked by a UD officer shortly after activation. In my opinion, the blue lights are placed in locations on campus that are not too obscure and can be easily located.

There was also a comment about Mom's Limo having five cars which is completely wrong. Mom's limo has only two cars and the reason why the wait becomes up to one hour is because people call in and then, when the car comes to the location, the person has already left, then they wait for five minutes then leave. These increase wait time considerably. Also you need to realize that Mom's Limo is a free service and everyone calls. The letter also says that there should be an escort service on campus; that is what Mom's Limo is for ' they are an escort service.

As far as officers having a problem getting to areas on campus during the winter is another false statement. The UDPD has no problem getting anywhere on campus, whether it be by foot or in vehicles. You can get a car very close to anywhere you need to be on campus.

To address some of the 'solutions,' this group came up with three main ideas. The first was more blue safety lights on campus as well as better lighting. I believe they have already been looked into by SGA.

The second was getting golf carts for the UDPD. This is a waste of money as the officers are able to get to any location on campus in the cruisers that they already have.

The third was installing cameras in locations on campus such as parking lots. This, however, will become extremely expensive. To reduce vandalism and break-ins to cars, take valuables out of cars or plain sight of a person looking to break into a car. If a person doesn't see something worth taking, they probably will not break into your car.

With the way that tuition is now, it may be a better idea for students to stand up for themselves and start taking measures to protect themselves and their property while on campus.

Christopher Di Bartolo

Sophomore

Psychology Major