A forum held by the UW-Madison Greek community Tuesday brought students and administrators together to address issues and concerns regarding downtown safety.
UW-Madison student organizations, Dean of Students Lori Berquam, University of Wisconsin Police officers and community members offered potential solutions for recent armed crimes, especially last week's mugging on Langdon Street.
Berquam said she was interested in hearing student's ideas and encouraged them to voice their opinions.
My hope for tonight is actually to review and have some amazing ideas that you might want to bring to the surface so that we could actually take action on some of them,"" Berquam said.
Many students complained about the lack of lighting on Langdon Street as well as on other isolated areas from campus.
According to UW-Madison senior Maggie Molter, the issue of safety on campus has been a recurring theme and said a new lighting initiative, proposed by Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, for the 2009 city budget, is an important solution for a safer environment.
""Every week, you expect to see in the paper [a] mugging, sexual assault or robbery. It is happening every week,"" she said. ""Something needs to be done ... It needs to be stopped.""
Students also expressed concern about the timeframe of late night bus schedules, the lack of WiscAlerts and the limited education of campus safety in the UW-Madison community.
Cecilia Nieves, a fifth-year UW-Madison student, said she did not receive a WiscAlert when the mugging occurred in the Greek community last week.
""[People] have to realize that [they] need to take personal responsibilities,"" Nieves said, adding she thinks education would lower safety risks.
According to UWPD Lt. Eric Holen, there is an environmental and procedural solution to increase safety on campus.
Holen said the number one procedural safety issue is to control the environment. He stressed students need to be more aware of their surroundings and need to avoid isolation.
Bob Holloway, president of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., said speaking to elders and communicating with neighborhood associations can also make a difference.
""The issue here goes far beyond the campus,"" Holloway said. ""These are the issues that concern everybody downtown.""
