Every Terrier Card bares on its back a reminder of the Escort Service, but still the availability of a safer way home seems to be woefully underused by Boston University students.
So in a well-intended effort to promote late-night safety on its urban campus, the Student Union plans to be visible in the George Sherman Union this week before taking to the streets as escorts themselves on Thursday night.
A Union spokeswoman said Escort Week is aimed at raising student awareness of the service, an attempt that will be punctuated with information booths, raffles and prizes. Certainly the Union should be applauded for drawing attention to a service that has the potential to benefit every BU student, as should its members be commended for making their own presence felt among their constituents.
However, the timing of the event is poor and random. This week immediately precedes Spring Break, meaning most students are preoccupied with travel plans and midterms and will thus be less likely to stay out late at night. By the time the Union steps to the fore on Thursday, many students will already be gone for the break or getting ready to leave.
Granted, some students may be studying in groups or at Mugar Library until midnight and may feel more comfortable with an escort home. But why not inform students of their options earlier in the school year, when freshmen are becoming acquainted with the late nights of college life in a big city? If they had started this campaign in September, not only would it have served the students better, but it would have been a positive, easy step toward building bridges with the Union’s two most critical allies: its constituents and BU administrators.
Nonetheless, Escort Week is a step in the right direction. It shows that even as the Union pursues a change in the Guest Policy and an improvement in minority enrollment, it will continue to push issues students can take advantage of on a daily basis. In this case, however, poor timing will cost the Union what could have been a cheap and easy success.
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