Rosty SorokaCurrent Safewalk coordinator CJ Aguilar remembers how someone looked at his yellow Safewalk vest and asked if he was a police officer during one of his shifts.
“Um… it says Safewalk, my badge is laminated,” he said.
Now, Safewalk is expanding its service to people who may not want that kind of attention. This year they’re offering optional incognito walks, where volunteers would put their signature Safewalk vests away in their bags while escorting students home from campus.
Safewalk is a volunteer-run service that accompanies students home from campus on late nights in the event they don’t feel safe doing so. Their service extends beyond the confines of campus as their volunteers will accompany students within 10 blocks of any transit station. About 80 to 100 student use their services each month.
Aguilar said that while the vests traditionally worn by Safewalk volunteers are good for visibility, adding to a sense of safety, he understands some people might find that kind of visibility embarrassing, signifying that the user isn’t comfortable walking home on their own.
“We’ve found that the bright yellow jackets are really great for making sure drivers see us, but it’s not always so great when you’re walking in a neighborhood and you just want to get home without being bothered or anything,” he said.
Incognito walks were first introduced last term as an option for students using Safewalk’s services. Aguilar said about 10 incognito walks were requested throughout the fall. However, he said it’s not as popular as they would like as they’ve had trouble getting the word out about the new service.
Despite that, Aguilar says incognito walks have been received well by both users and volunteers.
“The returners from last year think it’s a really good idea, a good step forward, even though it’s not as popular as we’d thought it’d be,” he said.
