n I am writing to clarify any questions or concerns as to the responsibilities of the Boston University Escort Security Service.

There is a general misconception that the BU Escort Security Service is the same as other Boston area colleges, such as BC, MIT or Harvard, and that we work to provide students with a “free ride” anywhere they want to go on campus. These other university services are run by full-time professional drivers who have Commercial Drivers Licenses and only transport students around their respective campuses.

Our service is a student-run program, designed and established to promote and improve the safety on campus. All of the employees, including the managers who report directly to the GSU administration, are BU students. Our primary job is to see that students who do not feel safe are escorted from one campus location to another, whether it is on the van or by our walkers. All of our staff are trained and carry radios with them to keep in contact with the supervisor on duty or in emergencies, with BUPD; they also carry umbrellas in bad weather if the van is not running. Our second responsibility is to monitor and check the functionality of all the Blue-Light and Vestibule Phones on campus, as well as to ensure that all the back doors to all of the residences are shut and locked. These responsibilities are unique to BU. These responsibilities account for why our van service is limited to on-campus rides only, as well as why it has a maximum limit on the van of only 12 passengers, not including the two staff members, limiting only two to three passengers per call.

Our staff deals with many disgruntled callers who do not realize what our service really is. We always provide our service, even if we only have walkers available for one reason or another, such as unsafe driving conditions, because we want to ensure the safety of the students here at BU.

Our service runs between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The van runs for about four to five hours each night.

Any other questions or concerns may be directed to either myself or the director of the GSU by calling the GSU Administration Office at 353-5498.

Joshua Hamlin SAR ’04 Student Manager, Escort Security Service