VCU needs safe-ride system

At college, one of the most important skills to learn is how to party safely. Well, not completely safe, but at least enough to make it home in one piece. VCU, however, is missing one key element that could keep students much safer-a service that provides safe, no-questions-asked rides home for students.

Universities that condone college partying and underage drinking are non-existent, but many schools at least make the effort to provide students with safe-ride services. A safe-ride service is one that will take students home, even ones that have had too much to drink-without reporting them to the police, writing them up or simply taking them to the dreaded “drunk tank.”

VCU currently has the Security Escort Service that will pick up and drop off students around both Monroe Park and MCV campuses, and some parts surrounding both campuses. While VCU’s Security Escort Service gives sober students no-questions-asked rides home, what about driving home students who have had too much to drink and would not be safe to walk alone?

According to a spokesperson for VCU’s Escort Services, if a student appears to be intoxicated, too drunk to walk or is throwing up, they will take disciplinary measures. While each case is different, being heavily intoxicated on the ride home could mean police reports and maybe a night in jail.

This does make sense because Escort Services are run by VCU Police, who have to do their job-but it can place students in unsafe situations. If students have had too much to drink, they or their friends should have someone to call who would bring them home so they won’t have to risk walking around Richmond late at night.

The reason VCU Escort Service is not a “drunk bus” is because the university does not want to be seen as though they are condoning partying. However, safe-ride systems are not a university’s way of saying that going out and getting completely smashed is OK. Having a safe-ride system for students would not encourage students to drink any more than they usually would; it would just give them the knowledge that in case anything did happen, they would be able to secure a ride home.

VCU has a responsibility to keep their students as safe as possible, and while Escort Services is a complete asset to this school, students should have someone to call; that they know will be sober, for a non-judgmental ride home if a night partying becomes a night of partying too hard.

It could be said that the basic solution could be that students should not be drinking anyways, but partying and underage drinking is something that happens in college regardless of how much the administration discourages it.

Not every student drinks, but for those that do, a safe-ride system would be a huge benefit and avoid many safety risks. While VCU’s urban campus has many benefits and provides fun things to do, it can also be dangerous to walk around at night. Sure, you could just walk in groups, but there is not necessarily safety in numbers after partying and being in an inebriated state.

A safe-ride system would avoid the possibility of students hurting themselves, or being held up or mugged. Especially around the Fan District, which according to the Feb. 15 Richmond Times-Dispatch, has had seven reported muggings of VCU students since Jan. 1.

Think about it, if your friend was stumbling drunk, upset at her boyfriend and in no state to walk from Lombardy Street to the dorms, wouldn’t you want to make sure you could get her home safe without getting her in trouble with the police?

Granted, a safe-ride system would not protect students entirely from getting in trouble for underage drinking and coming home drunk, but it would at least give them a ride home and perhaps some time to sober up before facing dorm security.

VCU Escort Services currently takes students as far off the Monroe Park Campus as Lombardy Street. The fair thing would be to have a safe-ride system that also extends that far, as well as taking students to both campuses. While the safe-ride service might not be able to be run the by VCU Police, there is no reason why it could not be run by another part of the university.