The volunteer, student-run organization Safe Rides offers “safe rides” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. With a “no questions asked” policy, the program is appealing to students because it serves as an alternative to drinking and driving, or walking alone at night.

The program began in 1992 after Elon football player Chad Macy was killed in a drunken driving accident.

Similar programs are offered at schools across the country, and a lot of credit is given to the program by students, faculty and staff members and is often emphasized to incoming students as a way to stay safe when out partying.

However, lately Safe Rides’ solid reputation is slipping. Many students are upset with the program and think that it is time for a “makeover” of sorts.

The service, in theory, was created to offer as many students as possible a safe way to their destinations, but this theory is not always a reality.

One student said she called the service, waited for 45 minutes; called the service again and the dispatcher told her that she had “already been picked up.”

“I obviously hadn’t been picked up, since I was still at the apartment I had called them from,” the student said.

Never having used the service before, I decided to try it out to see what my experience would be like. I called Safe Rides at about midnight and politely asked the dispatcher for a ride from the off-campus apartment that I and a few friends were at, to the party we were headed to.

“We’ll be there in about 10 minutes, and we’re only going to take three of you,” was the response we received. About 30 minutes later and tired of waiting, we called a friend for a ride.

Safe Rides is a very important service that Elon is lucky to have on its campus, but it’s vital that the service follow through with its mission.

The service, being volunteer-run, is bound to have a few hiccups along the way, but problems arise when students become so dissatisfied with the service that they stop using it.

Hopefully the program will work its kinks out as the year progresses and it once again will become Elon’s most popular safety organization.

Columnist: Angela Sparrow - 09/26/07