Off-Grounds Safety Forum

You are a critical part of our efforts. Please use this forum to voice your opinion on our existing programs, future safety initiatives, and University safety programs. Our safety initiatives are two-part: (1) EDUCATIONAL and (2) ACTION-ORIENTED. After your input is collected, Student Council will make a report to the administration and work to improve areas with indicated potential. It’s like shouting from the Rotunda steps, only better.

Check out our educational video put together by our Marketing & Communications Committee. The University Police Department and the Off-Grounds Housing Office provided the safety tips for the video.

+ OTHER SAFETY RESOURCES ON GROUNDS (click to expand)

University Police
Get Grounded at UVA (Check it Out!)
Crisis Intervention
Student Health
Safe Ride
Facilities Management Incident Reporting
Office of Environmental Health & Safety
Hoos Ready
Community Emergency Information
Sexual Assault Resource Agency
Shelter for Health in Emergency
Office of Emergency Preparedness
Charlottesville/Albermarle/University Communication Center
University of Virginia Women’s Center
Sexual Assault Leadership Council
Sexual Assault Peer Advocacy
One in Four
Office of the Dean of Students
Bias Reporting: Just Report It

Safe Ride Reform

SafeRide’s (official website) purpose is to provide a safe passage for current students with vaild student IDs who would otherwise have to walk alone at night. The service began as a cooperative venture of Student Council and the University of Virginia Police Department in the late 1980s. Have suggestions or concerns? Would you be more willing to use this service if a student driver (similar to the bus service) operated the vans? Speak up at the bottom of this page.

Late-Night Parking Initiative

We know many of you want to use the library to study late into the night. But getting back and forth from the library safely can be a concern. Those of you with wheels may choose to use the Central Grounds Parking Garage. Yes, it’s expensive to park there. And StudCo wants to change that. Have suggestions or concerns? Speak up at the bottom of this page.

Lighten Up Campaign

Student Council’s Safety and Wellness Committee manages the Lighten Up campaign. It is designed to help students who feel that their off-Grounds housing area is not properly lit. This initiative will promote lighting assessments of off-Grounds housing areas, and free lighting will be provided by property managers or Student Council no more than two weeks after the initial lighting assessment. Apply Now.

Safety Awareness Food Extravaganza

An event that invites dozens of groups involved in safety and wellness issues to share their resources with students, especially first years new to the University. The event takes place in the McCormick Area Quad. Does your CIO want to participate? Have a suggestion for a group to invite? Speak up at the bottom of this page.

Police Presence on Corner

Students deserve high quality police presence on the Corner and surrounding areas. We are meeting with the police chiefs of the University and Charlottesville police departments to discuss this. We need your thoughts on this issue to bring to our meeting. Speak up at the bottom of this page.

Fine Arts Library Extended Hours

Student Council’s Student Life Committee is working with the libraries to evaluate hours of operation. Extending the library hours of the Fine Arts Library could provide students an opportunity to take advantage of a library closer to their off-grounds housing locations. This would keep students who live in those areas from walking home late at night from other library locations. Have suggestions or concerns? Do you think you would take advantage of this service? Speak up at the bottom of this page.

Your voice has limitless potential. The projects you see above are only the beginning of what StudCo wants to do to improve safety on Grounds. Stay Tuned for updates.

Please share your ideas above and use your votes to bump up the ideas that you’re passionate about. It’s time to start some conversations. Want to anonymously send feedback to StudCo? Click here or send an email to uva.studco.safety.response@gmail.com. As always, SpeakUpUVA is a great way to post concerns and share ideas with StudCo.

108 Responses to "Off-Grounds Safety Forum"

TDubWhitney says:

October 6, 2010 at 1:40 am

The proposal to gate Culbreth Garage at nights and on weekends for those who don't buy a pass is ridiculous. The garage is very convenient for those who live far and need to spend a long time in the A school and want to drive. We are not allowed to park in the Bayly lot or the President's house lot for some reason, even if it is the middle of the night (I have been ticketed for both). Taking away the Culbreth garage would not promote any more profit to the university, it would just increase disgruntled students, illegal parking, and unsafe travel at night.

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A - School Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 1:53 am

PLEASE do not gate the Fine Arts Grounds Garage – many of us rely on parking there for nights when we will be working late, and the parking permit is prohibitively expensive for many of us.

Additional lighting along the path from the architecture school to the garage would also be appreciated as this area is somewhat secluded.

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Concerned Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:04 am

Closing the parking garages will most likely result in more students walking home late at night during the week, when the streets are less lively, after long nights of studying/working. This ought to be of paramount concern considering the brash of late night assaults happening to people generally walking from on to off grounds. The students in the Architecture and Arts buildings, in particular, are known for late night working; and I've seen students leaving there at all hours of the night, usually alone, sometimes grad students who live considerable distances from school (many in Belmont) – the closure of the Culbreth parking facility would put these students in a difficult position at the end of their nights.

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aschooler. says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:16 am

The idea of closing the Culbreth Garage at night is an awful idea. Especially after recent events around the 14th St/Rugby area – not allowing students to park there at night would cause major issues. As an architectural studio student, I would not feel safe at ALL walking around 3am, even past 10pm, in the morning when leaving studio. It is already hard enough to get home safely with the garage and eliminating it would just create a more dangerous situation in an already risky area.

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GrayintheASchool says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:26 am

There are often hundreds of people working late at the A School, and by the law of averages, about half of them are women. It's simply not safe, in light of the recent attacks in Charlottesville, to ask these students to walk home and there is no way for SafeRide to accommodate them all. By arbitrarily and unnecessarily gating Culbreth Garage, the University is just asking for another attack on a student walking home from studio at 3 am. Which is worth more- our safety, or a few parking dollars?

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Daniel Grad Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:29 am

Closing the Culbreth Garage at night is a HUGE SAFETY ISSUE!!! Not only would it prevent students from working safety during night, especially Architecture students. Why pick on a small helpless group of students who have no choice but to work late on time consuming projects? Also students who live far away from campus will most likely try to find free parking around the city (I would assume), and it is apparent that walking late at night off of grounds is Dangerous! Please don't make students pick between safety and money. Please let us keep the smartest, quickest, and most safe option in place. Parking and Transportation — What's a few bucks when you can save a student from harassment?
Make a solution, not a problem!

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A-Schooler says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:30 am

Gating the Culbreth Parking Garage at night? Is the University really sacrificing student welfare for monetary gain?

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Kelsey-SARC 2012 says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:40 am

I believe it is nonsensical of the University to gate off the Culbreth Garage on weekends and nights especially to the students. Many of the Architecture students use this garage for their late nights in studio. I know that the A- School is a small community, but we are still apart of this school. After passed events I would think that the University would want to allow students to feel safe and allow the opportunity for them to drive themselves home instead of walking home by themselves late at night. Yes safe ride is an option but they are very busy at night and cannot always be in many places at once. And I am sure after passed events that they are extra busy now.

It has not been a problem in the past that we parked there so I don't see why it is a problem now.

Let us park there for our safety!

I hope that this situation will be reconsidered.

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John says:

October 6, 2010 at 2:57 am

The Culbreth Garage should be open to the public on nights and weekends. Yet another safety issue as students who have late nights (speaking as an A-school student, I can assure you that nearly every night is a late night) need access to the garage after hours.

Since many of these students do not utilize the garage during business hours, it is irresponsible (especially considering the safety issue) to begin charging for off-hours parking. On top of this, the garage is rarely full at these times. It is obvious that this is about money and not about lack of parking on nights and weekends. The University should concentrate on security issues first and money second for a change.

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M.Torrey says:

October 6, 2010 at 3:00 am

Gating the Culbreth Road garage is a serious safety concern for most students in the Architecture school. The majority of architecture students work late into the night, nearly every night. Those with cars will park in the garage at night to ensure a safe return home, and many times give rides to students who do not have the luxury of a car. Allowing students to park in the Culbreth garage after 5pm does not take any money from the University, it only increases student safety. Please do not let Parking and Transportation gate a garage that is used to keep students safe only to increase monetary gain for the University.

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ASchool Grad Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 3:09 am

Please do not gate and restrict the Culbreth garage any further. As a female graduate student who lives off-grounds and spends many, many late nights at the A-School, I would be very upset to not have this lot available for weekend and evening use. It would make transporting cumbersome materials for studio use even more difficult and increase the number of students walking home (alone) at 3 or 4am – not a very safe prospect.

Parking permits are prohibitively expensive and with the limited vehicular parking available to students, most of us make an effort to use alternative forms of transportation on a regular basis (biking, walking, public transport). For those times when other options are limited, it is most safe, or necessary to drive in to school (in the early morning hours, especially), please don’t make it any more difficult than it already is.

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student 2011 says:

October 6, 2010 at 3:17 am

There needs to be better lighting along the train track route that runs through town. Especially the area near Beta Bridge. There is that Presbyterian church whose parking lot is largely unlit. There are a bunch of trees and bushes on that hill and it's very creepy to walk adjacent to it at night. It's nice to see a cop who hangs out there a couple of times a week, but when he's not there the walk is scary. In many other areas of town, the lights need to be brighter. Also, alot of crime has been taking place on Wertland street it seems. Cops need to patrol that area more. Grady Avenue is another place of concern. Ultimately, I think the bottom line is that Safe Ride needs to be improved. It is not dependable and many students do not even bother calling this safety service because it is ineffective. There need to be more vans – student employment is good! – and they need to be better marked (ex. make them bright orange)! Maybe there could be certain stations put in place around town where you can pick up the safe ride at night – kind of like the bus stop/ schedule, but put in place for late at night.

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Arch Hist Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 3:33 am

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not gate the Culbreth Parking Garage on weekends! Those who utilize the Fine Arts Library, the Fine Arts complex, and the School of Architecture rely heavily on that garage, and by gating it on the weekends, those students will be forced to park farther away and risk even more danger. Gating this garage goes against any efforts to increase student safety on grounds by requiring us to walk distances to our cars.

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ConcernedUVAStudent says:

October 6, 2010 at 4:28 am

The lighting on Bayly Drive (road to get to Fine Arts Library) is very dark. This is potentially a safety concern.

Parking and Transportation has plans to gate the Culbreth Garage as 24/7 permit…this too is a safety issue for all Architecture School students, as well as anyone using the Fine Arts Library.

Brighter lighting in Lambeth parking lot would be great…recently there were 5 car "smash-and-grabs" and many residents now feel unsafe in this area.

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A-school Student says:

October 6, 2010 at 5:07 am

Closing off the Culbreth garage on nights and weekends is a serious concern to all the students who are in the School of Architecture, the Art building, Fine Arts Library, etc. at all hours of night.

If the University actually cares about the safety of its students, this is definitely something they need stop right now, architecture students are known to work through 2 or 3 am and driving is the quickest and safest way for us to get around late at night/early in the morning. There would be nowhere safe to park late at night around Arts grounds if Culbreth were to be gated.

Is it really worth risking student safety for more money?

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Wertland resident says:

October 6, 2010 at 5:36 am

I live on Wertland and we really need way more lighting on Wertland and more cops presence. Just having something as simple as cops driving around the streets of corner would make a difference! Please help us feel safe again!

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hopeful says:

October 6, 2010 at 5:38 am

I left Darden tonight, after academic conversation following a late night class. There are bushes along the brick building which one must pass along the way to vehicles before leaving the lot and heading to the apartments across the street. I heard a rustling in the bushes while the weather was quiet. There happened to be a fellow walking fast ahead of me. I was grateful he was still in the lot when I walked along the first row of cars. It is a shame that thought must be given to the landscaping because of strange and unusual, or worse, behaviors. I really don't like being afraid to go from class to my car where the architecture at first glance gives the impression of stability and safety.

Having signed on to this site to make the above comments, I read remarks posted by other students. It is neither legal nor normal to be drunk and walking home late at night, especially at 20 years of age. It is normal to hope that people will develop enough maturity not to make such decisions by the time they reach 21 years. Furthermore, I am disappointed that some students want us to enable such illegal and irresponsible behaviors by providing rides… Wouldn't that involve us in contributing to the delinquency of fellow students? Don't taxi companies and the police already handle irregular, unintentional drunken situations? Do students want other students to drive them home because they want to cover up dishonorable behaviors? Let's not be making so much noise or creating problems for the police, so they can do their jobs more easily. Same thing with SafeRide. It would be nice if students who are promised a ride do not to have to wait in the cold and dark twenty minutes – perhaps because of the accumulated irresponsible behavior of fellow students. Thank you.

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1. Doc says:
  
  October 6, 2010 at 2:16 pm
  
  It is not legal for a 20 year old to be walking home drunk. It is, however, normal for students of any age on a college campus to be inebriated during night time hours. The expectation that students will "develop enough maturity" to not drink is optimistic to the point of foolishness, at least if the past generation of college students is any indication. Protecting their safety is not contributing to their delinquency, it is attempting to mitigate the risks of an existing situation. Choosing not to protect students would simply enable the less scrupulous to take advantage of them.
  
  I agree that SafeRide is a better option, but in its current state, it is insufficient. Students driving students seems like a reasonable (perhaps temporary) alternative.
  
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grad-student says:

October 6, 2010 at 7:43 am

Please DO NOT GATE/FEE Culbreth Garage! As many others have stated… really?!? you're going to sacrifice student night-time safety and a crucial amenity for architecture school students for an extra profit? How much are you really going to make off of the cars that need to park there at night? There are typically less than 100 cars on weekday nights and some of those obviously already have permits.

TRY THE FOLLOWING INSTEAD for added revenue: double the "open container" fee for UTS Charter Services (from $150 – $300). If weddings, frat/srat, etc are willing to pay $150… they'll pay $300 for that option. And if they don't? Heck you may just reduce some of that binge drinking we're always talking about!

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seriously concerned says:

October 6, 2010 at 11:35 am

Regarding the possible closing of Culberth Garage on nights and weekends: I am appalled that this is even being considered. As a female student who spends many late nights at the Architecture school (past bussing hours), having close parking is imperative. I live 2 miles away from the school and it is a horrible bike back in the night in the winter, first because it's cold and awful, second because of the unfriendly biking situation in this town, and thirdly because apparently I have to go through areas of town where female students are attacked or people are mugged. Walking is out of the question. Parking passes at that garage are prohibitively priced, and considering the crimes on campus against female students… well, I just don't think extortion is an honorable way to raise money.

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Rose says:

October 6, 2010 at 1:07 pm

It would be helpful to have a poster campaign around grounds reminding people to be careful. Having eye-catching reminders would be a good way to reinforce the message; I think students always have the intention of being safe, but life and everything else takes over our attention, and we just forget.

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fallingfaceforward says:

October 6, 2010 at 1:37 pm

I agree with all the above mentioned comments but especially about the parking. I've just been informed that UVA is trying to make students buy passes to park at Culbreth garage by the Architecture school after 5pm. I honestly believe this is completely unfair and a decision ruled by greed. We a-school students live all over grounds and Charlottesville. I live on JPA and its a good 20 min walk from my apartment to the A-school. Many times, I'll be at the A-school till 3 or so in the morning because everyone knows us A-school kids live in that building. Usually I'll drive so that I can get back to my apartment safely since SafeRide is a fail and buses aren't running. If you force students to pay do you realize how many might have to walk back that late at night alone? Especially since the A-school is close to where some of the attacks have been happening and some students live in those residents.

I can't fathom why money is more important than the safety of a student…but then again it's UVA. Student priority seems to be low on their list.

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1. fallingfaceforward says:
  
  October 6, 2010 at 2:25 pm
  
  And while my above mentioned comment focused on the A-school, I've also had art classes to that force students to be there late as well. So this also applies for all the Art Majors who have to be in studio labs till god knows when trying to finish their projects.
  
  Reply
Concerned Mom says:

October 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm

I want to commend the Student Council for initiating this off-Grounds safety forum. My daughter is a 3rd year living off campus on 14th Street.
and I am a grad student with SCPS, Northern Virginia campus, in Falls Church. Even though I am not on campus, I frequently visit and so am familiar with the various geographic areas that are cited in the comments of others. There are many good suggestions that make sense. I strongly agree with
– Greater police presence in the areas behind the Corner where many of the "reported" assaults, muggings, sexual attacks, etc. have occurred. I particularly agree with the comment that this presence would be most effective if police were on foot, on bike, motor scooter. Some officers should patrol with their dogs.
– A need for true and accurate crime reports and data should be disseminated on a daily basis to the student and general population.
– Free Parking after certain times of day at the various garages mentioned, near (Library, Arts grounds, Culbreth, etc.)
– Escort services because many students prefer to walk to get some exercise and fresh air after being at a computer or lab or studying for many hours. Students escorts should have mace and a sort of "On Star" tracking system. They should be well compensated
– Safe Ride and Free Ride need to be part of the overall safety plan (but I will not comment on how that would best work as i am not familiar with what currently exists..)
– Improved lighting is critical and the owners of the off-grounds apartments should be responsible for taking the lead on this.
- Off grounds Apartment buildings should have 24 hour- security – meaning security guards on duty all day.
- Self-defense classes as proposed by the student body are not a real deterrent nor a substitute for good lighting, heightened security, etc.

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katie says:

October 6, 2010 at 4:04 pm

Do not gate Culbreth garage! It is so helpful to be able to use the garage at night and on weekends.

a) the garage is never full, there is plenty of extra parking. if anything, close one level to people without permits and allow people to use the other levels.
b) it is getting dark earlier and light later, so safe ride does not cover all the dark hours.
c) people are coming in and out of the architecture school at odd hours, sometimes making multiple trips in one night. safe ride can take you home from a school building, but does not pick you up from home and bring you to school buildings.

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graduate student says:

October 6, 2010 at 6:53 pm

As a graduate student (who often works late) I frequently feel unsafe, even when I go home and bring my car on-grounds after hours. Around the medical center there is very little parking, and the nursing student lot under McCloud Hall is not very well lit and has only a couple of exits. Other options for parking are on the street, so they are safer but limited in number. I NEVER see security patrolling around Jordan Hall at night, and while nothing has happened in this area recently, I think that it's only a matter of time. I would feel a lot more comfortable if there was more of a police presence on bikes and/or in cars. I also think the parking areas that are open to students after hours need to be better cared for and have security in place.

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Kat2013 says:

October 6, 2010 at 11:58 pm

What being repeated over and over again, and what I completely agree is that the police aren't doing the job they should be. It's ridiculous that I can be a frat and feel perfectly safe and yet can't walk home to 15th st without the fear of getting attacked in some way, yet it's the frat and my friends that are being penalized. Why, after numerous attacks are the polices STILL not where there's danger?!

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Evan says:

October 7, 2010 at 1:39 am

There are many students who live far away from campus proper who depend on open nightime parking in order to get home safely and expediently. This is especially due to the fact that we Architecture students work hours that are NOT reflected by public transport services. There is no reason for closing off garages when when there is no nuisance originating from it. The planning department advocates shared parking in order to decrease the amount of parking necessary in an area – its shameful that anyone is thinking of shutting down the best example of this right on the department's back door.

Speaking of planning, this law enforcement plan of beefing up corner security seriously seems to lack any planning whatsoever. Where are the crime studies? I'm 100% sure they would find much more insecure areas posing threats to students – especially around 14th and Wertland. Their action is clearly a 'feel better band-aid' that is meant to try and make the populace feel more secure without actually expending resources. UVA PD and C-Ville PD need to make a concerted effort to work with residents to increase security in these areas. (And how much do you wanna bet there are plenty of planning students who would gladly give their time to help this endeavor?) The police slapping a form-answer on the issue will do nothing to improve the safety of students – only engagement with the community can get it done.

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Manuel says:

October 7, 2010 at 3:01 am

A lot of people seem to have poor experiences with Safe Ride. Fortunately, my experiences, for the most part, have been very good. Just last night I called Safe Ride around 12:35am and they came picked me up in 5 minutes. I'll admit, there were times last year when I called but couldn't get through. So inaddition to other suggestions for safe ride, I would like to see Safe Ride increase the hours on weekends to start at midnight as well.

But all this only means more resources. I don't know how it will work out because Safe Ride would need to increase vans and drivers…and improve technology to have more accurate wait times.

Also improve lighting on Emmett Street toward Lambeth; and improve lighting on Brandon Ave going toward Bice.

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a-school student says:

October 8, 2010 at 1:10 pm

Closing Culbreth garage could potentially negatively affect the fine arts after hours events at the drama building and the school of architecture. The school of architecture hosts many community events after-hours and not being able to safely access the building, due to perceived safety concerns, could hurt the drama building event turnout and could hurt event turnout at the a-school.

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Concerned Student says:

October 15, 2010 at 3:53 am

A year ago was the Morgan Harrington murder, and still no progress in that case. Charlottesville police really need to get their act together, and UVA needs to stop supporting openness with the community because that's really not working.

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D.E. says:

October 15, 2010 at 6:00 pm

Student Council needs to be working with the chief of University Police to work out a policy on allowing students, professors, and faculty with concealed carry permits allowing them to carry on Grounds. I think a policy allowing them on Grounds at night would be wonderful, and even on Grounds during the day. However, I do not see a need to allow concealed weapons in buildings on Grounds. Now that crimes are being committed on Grounds, I most definitely do not feel safe. How much longer before these crimes start involving firearms as they already do on the Corner?

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