Student NITE walk hopes for safer campus
Around 50 students, faculty and staff members came together Tuesday to ensure students will be safe from things that go bump in the night.
Necessary Improvements to Transform our Environment (NITE) held it’s biannual NITE Walk – an effort to pinpoint areas on campus that could be safer for students traversing the campus at night – said Vice President of NITE Travis Kulczynski, a senior majoring in communications.
The campus is divided up into nine different sections for students to monitor, with three covered by students on golf carts to keep them from walking far at night. Those participating in the walk look for areas that can be easily repaired by the USF Physical Plant.
“The campus is so spread out that the Physical Plant cannot keep up with every light bulb that is out,” said Eileen Dabrowski, a senior majoring in biomedical science and chemistry and president of NITE. “By doing these walks twice a year, we can keep track of light bulbs that are out, cracks in the sidewalk, even things like bushes that are too high and block students view as they leave the parking garage.”
It was her involvement in the USF Advocacy program that prompted Nicole Sayago, a senior majoring in women’s studies and sociology, to participate in the walk. Sayago said she felt a lot was accomplished.
“There are definitely some things that need improving on campus,” she said. “We need more blue (emergency) lights in areas. They’re really spread out and far apart from one another.”
After a list of potential improvements is given to Physical Plant, NITE members check if they’ll be enforced by the University.
“This semester, I tried to send a lot of people who had previously done the same sections of campus last semester,” Dabrowski said. “They said things like, ‘I was very pleased. There were only one or two things that weren’t changed.’ At least the things that were repaired were things that we should be on top of.”
More Stories
McKinley Drive closed down for death investigation, Tampa police say
The intersection between Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive was closed due to a death investigation late Tuesday afternoon, according to the Tampa Police Department (TPD). A man shot himself after making a bomb threat in the parking lot of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), located at 11201 McKinley Drive, according to TPD. Police said […]
USF 2024-25 A&S budget to increase student organization funding in Tampa and St. Pete
The Student Government (SG) Senate approved the 2024-25 Student Activities & Services (A&S) budget for all three campuses this Tuesday, seeing an overall increase in allocated money to student organizations. The vote was 26-0, approving the budget. Related: 2023-24 A&S budget down $5 million from last fiscal year Students pay fees in their tuition – […]
USF education majors concerned about teacher shortage in Florida
The restrictions on how educators can teach and the lack of pay has deterred education majors, like sophomore Aidan Wright, from wanting to teach in Florida. Wright’s hesitation represents a larger issue facing Florida teachers. This year, the Florida Education Association reported a teacher shortage of over 4,000 educators. This has left “potentially…hundreds of thousands […]
Taylor Swift USF course to be taught this fall
Are you “…Ready for it?” An English course offered on the Tampa campus will concentrate on Taylor Swift for the first time in the fall. The course, LIT3301: Cultural Studies and Popular Art, has been offered before as an English elective, but can be taken by students of any major. The class concentrates on a […]
Marshall Student Center to replace elevators by December 2025
While students made their way into the Marshall Student Center (MSC) over the past year, they might have noticed signs in front of elevators reading they were under repair. One of the most commonly used elevators, behind the information desk at the MSC, was recently completely shut off. The motor on elevator one, on the […]
Abortion and marijuana amendments are pressing concerns for USF students
Florida voters will have the opportunity to decide the future of abortion and marijuana use in the state this November. Six amendments were approved at the beginning of April. These include amendment three, which addresses marijuana use, and amendment four, which addresses abortion. The abortion and marijuana amendments are especially important to college students according […]