Public Safety Launches New Program

 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.