When students called for student escorts Tuesday night, many received a recording on the other end of the line saying, “Thank you for calling SAFE Team. We are currently not operating.”
Scott Nee, the assistant director of employee relations for SAFE Team, said he was notified earlier in the day that the service would not be operating that night.
“We were advised by Gary Manka to not be in operation tonight because of maintenance issues,” he said.
Manka, the Student Government adviser, said the director of SAFE Team, Nelson Ling, reported that there were pests in the office.
“Some of the persons were getting bit, so we called an exterminator,” Manka said.
The exterminator is expected to inspect the SAFE Team office, located in the Marshall Student Center, this morning.
“I was alerted Sunday or Monday and, at that point, I advised to close it down for the holiday,” Manka said.
Manka said he couldn’t comment on whether students were notified that SAFE Team would not be in operation, but he acknowledged that the closing presents a safety issue.
“It’s sort of a double-sided coin,” he said. “You know the safety issue is there, and we realized we have to get it up and running again. Anywhere you go on campus, even during the day, travel in groups, be safe, that kind of stuff.”
If there are pests found, Manka said he doesn’t think they would infest the rest of the center.
He said the student escort service should be in operation tonight.
Ling could not be reached for comment.
