California State University East Bay

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California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Improper Lighting Concerns Students

As winter quarter begins, students deal with rainy weather, heavy fog and earlier sunsets—all factors that become greater issues when the campus isn’t properly lit at night, according to CSU East Bay students.

For those who take night classes, study late at the library and those who live in the dorms, walking around a dimly lit campus after dark can be an “eerie” experience, students said.

When there isn’t adequate lighting throughout the campus, the question of safety comes into play, students said.

“This is ridiculous,” said Human Development major Christina Neal, 20. “The school needs to be responsible for making sure the campus is properly lit in order to keep the students feeling safe.”

Neal said there should be more security patrolling the campus and campus parking lots at night. She also said that if there were more lights around campus at night, students could be better aware of their surroundings.

Even though CSUEB is one of the safest universities in the CSU system, it is still advised that students, faculty and visitors of the campus be cautious.

The department also mentions, “when walking around the campus at night, it is advisable to use well-lit pathways.”

But some students feel that many areas around campus are either too dimly lit or not lit at all.

Students believe that in these cases, finding that safe, “well-lit” pathway is very difficult.

“Some places on campus are pretty well-lit,” said Human Development major Jenna Holmes, 23. “However, places such as the library, where many students study at night, are not. When walking to my car at night, I feel uneasy and especially when I have my computer, books and other valuables in hand.”

Holmes said that between the dark campus and overly isolated parking lots, if anything were to happen, there would be nobody around to help.

As an added safety measure, the school’s police department offers safety escorts that can be arranged from courtesy phones in all campus buildings or at the “blue light” phones, located throughout the parking lots.

When someone is ready to be escorted, they simply give campus police a call, and a department member will escort that individual to his or her destination.

“Since it’s winter time, the fog starts coming in very heavily at night,” said Kinesiology major Joe Aure, 21. “I’m a dude, and still not having enough lights around campus makes it creepy to walk around.”

Aure has been working at night on campus for about a year and he says that he remembers it always being dark on campus at night.

Neither the UPD nor maintenance could be reached for comment.

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California State University East Bay
Improper Lighting Concerns Students