March 21, 2002
Focus
Page 13
Safe Rides a savior for many on campus
Samiha Khanna
A&E Editor
11:23 p.m.: A girl wearing
black platform boots scoots across
the back seat of car No. 2.
“If it wasn’t for Safe Rides, I
would definitely drive drunk,” she
said. It’s a Friday night, and this
passenger, like many Elon students,
is on her way to a party. She’s also
one of 3,531 students who have
been transported to their destina
tions by Safe Rides since Aug. 25.
Safe Rides is a student-run organi
zation that offers students free rides
around campus, no questions asked.
11:24 p.m.: The Safe Rides
volunteer in car No. 2 uses a two-
way radio to let headquarters know
that the planned pickup was suc
cessful. Listening at the other end
of the radio frequency is freshman
Zachary Lauritzen.
Many Thursday, Friday and Sat
urday nights between the hours of
10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., Lauritzen
can be found at the dispatch desk
in the Kemodle Center for Service
Learning. One of six captains on the
Safe Rides team, he answers calls
and directs volunteers to students
who need rides within a one-mile
radius of campus.
Anondrinker, Lauritzen is in the
minority on Elon’s campus. This
allows him to be a designated driver
more often, he said.
“I had a friend in high school
who said it was fun to drive [under
the influence of drugs and alcohol]
because it’s like a game,” Lauritzen
said. “It really changed my perspec
tive on drinking and driving.”
Safe Rides was founded in 1992
when Elon football player Chad
Macy was killed in a car accident
as a result of driving under the in
fluence. Safe Rides became one of
more than 20 programs run
through Elon’s service learn
ing program and Elon
Volunteers!. Similar programs are
offered at numerous institutions
across the country, including the.
University of Texas and the Univer
sity of Georgia.
Student volunteers use their own
cars and are paired with a volun
teer passenger who communicates
with the dispatch team via a CB, or
citizens band, radio. Volunteers sign
a confidentiality agreement to keep
conversation with passengers im
personal and the identities of pas
sengers confidential.
Students at many large univer
sities are usually only left with the
option of calling campus security if
they need a ride home, according
Rachel Hitt, the program’s coordi
nator. However, students at Elon
should feel more comfortable call
ing Safe Rides because there is no
risk of being cited for underage
drinking, she said.
While Safe Rides’ confidential
ity agreement prevents volunteers
from disclosing incriminating infor
mation about students, local police
listen to the program’s CB channel
to find out where students are be
ing picked up, Hitt said.
Hitt also emphasized that stu
dents who are drinking aren’t the
only people who call for rides.
“We want to make sure students
feel comfortable calling us for
whatever reason [they have], no
questions asked,” she said.
12:57 a.m .: Volunteers in car
No. 2 stop at Moseley Center to take
a break and get slices of the pizza
Safe Rides has provided for volun
teers. As they walk into the office,
they hear one side of a call from an
Elon senior whose ride was mistak
enly given to another girl waiting
at the same location. Sophomore
volunteer Chris Morse apologizes
to the student, and she tells him to
hurry up.
While some students take the
program for granted, people are
generally appreciative, Lauritzen
said.
“But when it comes to the lon
gevity of the program, it is hard to
translate that appreciation into ser
vice hours,” he said.
This semester, the program has
struggled to expand its pool of re
peat volunteers.
While 141 students signed up at
interest meetings, a smaller num
ber of volunteers have actually
worked for the program, according
to Hitt.
’ Safe Rides receives a yearly
budget of about $1,200 to pay for
publicity, supplies and maintenance
of its three CB radios.
According to Lori Boso, student
coordinator of Elon Volunteers!,
Safe Rides might use part of next
year’s budget to purchase green
lights to better identify its vehicles.
2:14 a.m.: After 48 miles, a
quarter-tank of gas and several trips
around Elon’s campus, volunteers
from car No. 2 returned wearily to
Moseley center. In four hours, two
cars transported 130 students to
their destinations.
“It was pretty fun, but I’m also
really tired,” said freshman Lind
say Porter, driver of car No. 2. “I
never thought you could drive so
many places in such a small vicin
ity, but apparently, it’s entirely pos
sible.”
In addition to being tired, vol
unteers often commented on a feel
ing of satisfaction.
“Being a volunteer, you get to
see that you’re saving all these lives
when you get the tally at the end of
the night,” Hitt said. “Over the long
run, to look at that number, you get
to see how much of an impact [the
program] has.”
1^1
i .
SGA starts movie program
Alison Clark
Reporter
There is good news for movie
buffs.
SGA and Belk Library staffs
have agreed to increase the num
ber of popular films offered to stu
dents, who will no longer be forced
to endure long lines and checkout
fees at local video stores.
SGA voted to provide $1,000 to
purchase bestselling videos, an
amount to be matched by the li
brary.
The videos will be placed with
the library’s existing film collec
tion. “There will be more films here
for students to check out without
having to go to Blockbuster to rent
them,” said Kate Hickey, director
of Belk Library,
Although there will be a smaller
selection than at commercial rental
stores, they will be free for students,
Hickey said.
However, the intention is not for
the library to compete with com
mercial chains.
“I think students will take advan
tage of the new movies in the li
brary,” junior Melissa Meiskey
said. “We all need time to relax and
the library is a convenient place to
get a movie.”
Most of the videos in the library
now are classics or award-winners.
The selections range from “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” to
“Dracula” and circulate regularly.
The new videos and DVDs can
be checked out with Phoenix cards.
Borrowing time is three days and
late fees will be the same for over
due books: 5 cents per day. If a stu
dent has overdue materials, he or
she cannot check out anything else.
If students loses a video, they
will have to pay the replacement
cost as well as a processing fee,
“We generally will buy only one
copy of a movie,” Hickey said.
“One thousand dollars will buy
about 50 videos.”
Junior Kristen Menz said she
thinks the new project “is a great
way for students to access up-to-
date media sources at no cost and
to use the library for personal use
rather than strictly academic rea
sons.”
The selection of titles will be
chosen by SGA and will conform
to the library’s staff’s guidelines.
SGA representative Darris
Means will be in Mosley between
10 a.m. and 11 a.m. every Thurs
day asking students what types of
videos they would like to see in the
library.
“We really want student input
and a diverse opinion on the mov
ies,” Means said.
The idea for the project origi
nated from an SGA member about
a year ago.
“It is an inexpensive way to get
movies,” Means said, “and it will
help people on campus who don’t
have cars.”