The NIU Department of Public Safety attempts to make students feel safe by providing two different safety features: the Huskie Student Patrol and the Late Night Ride Service.

Late Night

The Late Night Ride Service is staffed by members of the security guard division. It offers free rides around the DeKalb area to students daily between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The service does not discriminate and currently operates on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Some students use the service to prevent drunk driving after a night of partying. Others may use it just to get from one place to another.

“I use Late Night every night during the late hours,” said junior corporate communications major Christina Booker. “It’s basically like a taxi cab.”

Thursday nights are usually busy for Late Night. There were 187 riders last Thursday, said Lt. Matt Kiederlen, who watches over Huskie Student Patrol and Late Night.

“The service is available, but on Thursday nights there is a long wait,” Booker said.

Sophomore psychology major Anthony Ehlers uses Late Night two times a week, but he believes there are many students who don’t know about the service.

Student Patrol

The Huskie Student Patrol is staffed by student employees willing to walk with fellow students who do not want to walk alone between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weeknights. When on duty, the members have radios to communicate with one another, as well as a specific channel where members can communicate with University Police. They also make sure the on-campus emergency call boxes are working.

The primary job of Huskie Student Patrol is to patrol the parking lots on campus, Kiederlen said.

For both safety features, students can call the service to speak to an operator. After providing the requested information to the operator, the only thing left to do is wait, either to be picked up by the Late Night van or to be escorted by a member of the Huskie Student Patrol.

Funding for both services comes directly from the NIU Police Department. There is a high demand for Late Night, which means more funding is needed.

“Ridership is more than we can accommodate,” said Chief Donald Grady.

Booker believes there should be other safety programs like Huskie Student Patrol and Late Night on campus to avoid crimes from being committed, and to further ensure the safety of students. Ehlers said there should be more escorts for Huskie Student Patrol because he usually doesn’t see many of them patrolling the parking lots.

There are far fewer requests for foot escorts, Grady said.

Students can contact Huskie Student Patrol at 753-9679 and the Late Night Ride Service at 753-2222.

Ebony Cline is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.