Rida Shah
The Public Safety department is holding ‘Dishin’ with the
Director’ in room 111 in the Mack Center every Wednesday at 1-2 pm. This is a
fun and interactive way the Hofstra community can reach out and meet with the
director of Public Safety, Gerri Hart, without an appointment necessary. This
is a great opportunity for students to drop-in and leave suggestions for
improvements because of its timing during common hours. As a Hofstra student myself, I know the
importance of having an opportunity to reach out to those that care about the
community deeply, such as the Public Safety department. This event gives a
wonderful chance to meet the director and see the people behind the scenes that
help keep the community safe. Other services provided by the University are the
Hofstra Shuttle and ‘Safe Walk’. When I was a freshman, I was very new to the
area- even though I was from Long Island myself. Through some other students
and professors, I found out about the Hofstra Shuttle. The Hofstra Shuttle
provides safe and quick transportation to and from certain locations such as
the nearby grocery store or the shopping center. Another benefit of the shuttle
is that it has a route to the nearby train station. Since we’re so close to New
York City many professors plan trips to the city and the shuttle helps us
greatly- especially with such large groups of students. Another plus is, during
the holiday season and breaks there are extra hours in which the shuttle will
operate- including routes to the nearby airport. Another great service provided
by the University is the ‘Safe Walk’ program. As a freshman I used to feel a
bit uncomfortable walking to my car at night but Public Safety offers this
wonderful program in which not only do officers accompany students to and from
their cars during very early and very late hours, but student patrol officers
as well! Having students help in patrolling not only takes off the workload
from the already hardworking officers but also the embarrassment that may be
felt from students who call for this. It helps students reach out to others and
be able to help, creating a wonderful community that interchanges and
interacts.