Katelynn Singleton, news editor
On Feb. 2, Campus Safety and Security evaluated areas across campus that may need to have the lighting fixed. The walk identified several problem areas on campus need to be addressed in the coming months.
The entire Student Government Association (SGA) executive board attended the walk, as well as Gary Will, the vice president of campus safety and land management; Lindsey Taylor, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students; Mark Simpson, the assistant director of physical plant; and Ryan Chesley, Berry College police chief. The group started at the intersection of Road of Remembrance and Deerfield Drive, the intersection behind Deerfield and Hermann Hall, and identified that the crosswalk and the lights leading from Deerfield to the Cottages were dark.
“That particular corner we identified as a potential new spot for a pole or a light shining on that intersection,” Taylor said.
Other areas that are potential candidates for a new light were near the roundabout on the side closest to McAllister, between Green and the College Chapel, and between Cook and Centennial. The group also identified several existing lights that were burnt out, but they plan to fix them.
Students have previously expressed concern with the lighting around campus being too dim at Student Government Association (SGA) meetings throughout the fall semester. Will spoke at one of these meetings on Jan. 25. He addressed concerns and said that there are multiple departments that would need to get involved to fix the issue. These departments include Campus Safety, Physical Plant, the Dean of Students’ Office, the President’s Office and Berry College Police.
“It’s a matter of reviewing the situation,” Will said. “Talking with stakeholders of the campus, whether that’s students or administration, and seeing where we want to go from there.”
At the SGA meeting, one student brought up the idea of using solar garden lights to help the issue. The lights are stuck in the ground and could be at a lower cost than streetlights. Will said that the lights would likely be frustrating for grounds to work with, having to mow around the lights. Taylor said that something could also knock over the lights, which would be more work for grounds to pick up.
“In some areas, that may make more sense than others,” Taylor said. “In high foot traffic areas, that’s not going to make sense because they’re gonna be kicked out, and then you’ve got a mess on your hands.”
Multiple students reached out to Will following the SGA meeting with specific areas that they were concerned about. Among those specific areas were the Green parking lot, College Chapel lawn, the path leading from the Cottages to Deerfield, and the Laughlin parking lot.
Possible solutions to the lighting issue could be as simple as trimming trees that are blocking street lights. Taylor said that Physical Plant could identify when a tree might be a problem once the leaves grow in spring. New light fixtures, such as the ones in front of the new Animal Science building, have mirrors on the top that reflect the light back down onto the ground. Taylor said that a potential solution would be to retrofit the existing lights with this feature.
“When they replace light poles, that’s what they’re replacing with, it just takes time to get caught up,” Taylor said.
The roads leading to Ford and the Cottages will likely be retrofitted like the new lights on campus. Taylor said that Simpson is working on doing more research into pricing and if it is possible to retrofit the existing features.
The next steps include identifying which areas to prioritize, and which areas will be handled over the coming years.
“[Simpson’s] working on the cost and crunching some numbers for us to get back to see ‘ok what and how do we want to move forward with now, and what do we want to do next year,’” Taylor said. “I think the good news is that people saw very clearly where we have some opportunities for improvement.”
The walk did not include Mountain Campus or the Oak Hill Residences. Taylor said that there will likely be more evaluating in the summer, once trees have grown back their leaves.
There are currently nine emergency phones in place around campus that students can call should they feel unsafe on campus while walking. There are three phones in the McAllister, Evans and Cook parking lot, one phone in the Centennial parking lot, two near Morgan and Deerfield, one at the Ford parking lot, and two in the Cage Center parking lot. Will also said during the SGA meeting that students can call Campus Police to have an escort if it’s late at night.