December 2004

Briefly speaking: Safety escort just a call away

Aggie Hosts Tina Phillips, left, and Nidhi Dhwan, right, help junior Hardeep Gill safely home from the Shields Library on a foggy night. (Tony Novelozo/Axiom)

It's dark and it's late and the thought of a solo hike from the library to the car is a bit unsettling.

But a simple phone call will bring the campus safety escort service, which provides rides to students, employees and campus visitors from anywhere on campus to up to one-quarter mile off campus.

The free service, available from 6 p.m. to midnight during the school year and until 12:30 p.m. during midterms and final exams, is operated by student employees of the Aggie Hosts program.

Part of the police department

"Primarily, the service is used by dorm students as a safety net," says Chuck Coulton, supervisor of the program, which is housed in the UC Davis Police Department.

The service logs about 500 requests for a safety escort each quarter, he says. The winter quarter is the busiest because it gets dark earlier and the temperature drops.

With about 50 to 70 student employees, the Aggie Hosts program provides safety, security and hospitality services on campus. Wearing bright yellow jackets and carrying police radios, the Aggie Hosts work football games, concerts, commencement and other events.

Trained student employees

Student employees are trained to be firm, but non-confrontational, and to call for police backup if necessary, Coulton says.

"Basically what we look for is for students who are people-oriented and have worked with the public before," he says.

Employees who have proved themselves at events can be promoted to the safety escort. Student escorts work in pairs, driving a van to various locations on campus to pick up people, who are most often women alone.

"It's a big responsibility. You're driving people around and there's a lot of trust that goes into that," says Tina Phillips, a fourth-year student who has worked as an Aggie Host for more than two years. She is now a supervisor.

Phillips, who is majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, says the job has allowed her to meet all kinds of students, to attend a variety of events and to learn more about UC Davis.

"The job isn't mundane," she says. "It's very different every night."

Coulton says he often witnesses a transformation in his student employees as they progress in the job. "It's a growing experience. They become much more self-confident," he says.

The escort service is available by calling police dispatch at (530) 752-1727. For more information about becoming an Aggie Host, visit the police department's Web site.

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