The Nevada Sagebrush

It’s been a hectic semester for Campus Escort employees.

The seven vans that roam the streets around the University of Nevada, Reno, picking up and dropping off students, are being used more than ever, said Campus Escort coordinator Monica Thompson.

The service, which runs seven days a week, is fielding about 150 to 200 calls per night – about 100 more calls than normal. On Feb. 5, students were experiencing more than an hour-long delay for a ride.

The influx of calls is part of the reason why students have been getting busy tones instead of a Campus Escort dispatcher lately.“I’ve had five-minute phone calls and I’ve missed 10 calls,” said Charlie Goldner, a 25-year-old biology-chemistry major and dispatcher for Campus Escort.

The free service, which is based in the Joe Crowley Student Union, has added another dispatcher and two 12-passenger vans to its fleet on busy nights to keep up with demand, Thompson said.

“It’s definitely been really hectic,” said Chris Partridge, a 21-year-old history major and fourth-semester Campus Escort driver. “A lot of people are a lot more conscious of safety.”

At last week’s meeting, the Associated Students of the University of Nevada senate unanimously approved about $25,000 to fund Campus Escort, with nearly $12,000 of those funds going toward new escort programs.

Those programs include:

- Service until 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, which will cost about $1,700.

- A shuttle to run from the dorms to late-night events such as ASUN’s Howl at the Moon, which will cost about $2,100.

- A walking escort service, which students or faculty can use when walking to a class or car at night. The program will cost about $7,800.

Thompson said she hopes to start the walking escort service in the next eight weeks. Those escorts will based out of Getchell Library and will use bikes to traverse the campus.

University of Nevada, Reno Parking Services also recently started offering a shuttle service that runs Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. that travels from the Downunder Café entrance, Greek houses, the Virginia Street Gym, the student services building and The Joe.

Many students who used Campus Escort last week said they started using the service more frequently this semester after learning about the disappearance of 19-year-old Brianna Denison four weeks ago and the other sexual assaults on or near campus.Jenny Luna, a 20-year-old journalism major, started using Campus Escort two weeks ago.

“It’s definitely because of the recent crimes,” Luna said Thursday night while riding a Campus Escort van home. “I’m a good friend of Bri Denison so it’s hit home and all my family is really worried.”

Veronica DeLeon, a 24-year-old psychology major, used Campus Escort for the first time last Thursday.

“I felt pretty confident walking alone, never felt like there’s been a need for me to carry pepper spray or to be walking with somebody else,” DeLeon said. “But with everything going on it just seems more important.”