The University of Tennessee Facilities Services Department recently released the results of the 2003 Campus Safety Report in response to the SGA’s Campus Safety Walk held last fall.
The original report, which was released in late September, outlined 86 safety issues on campus that SGA members and the walk’s other participants said needed to be addressed.
The report, compiled by University Services Director Troy Weston and assistant directors Lauren Houston and Derek Sanders, recommended that facilities services correct these issues or refer them to the proper authorities.
“The University Services Committee believes that if these findings are acted upon, the campus will be a substantially safer place,” the report said.
In a memorandum sent to SGA on Feb. 9, Mike Sherrell, executive director of facilities services, addressed each of these provisions, which were reviewed to determine what, if any, action could be taken to correct them.
In the report, Sherrell states that 28 of the 86 items on the list were corrected by facilities services, corrective action is being taken on seven at the present time and five are still being evaluated.
Many of the corrected problems involved issues with broken or insufficient lighting and overgrown trees and shrubbery around various building on and near campus.
One item, however, was slightly more unusual.
According to the report, metal gates have been purchased to close and secure campus parking garages during school breaks.
Many of the provisions that are being corrected also involve lighting problems as well as fixing emergency blue lights.
Some are still being evaluated to determine whether action needs to be taken, such as a provision that said there needed to be curb cuts in the sidewalks near Fraternity Row to allow better wheelchair access.
Others, according to the report, require cost estimates before a decision can be reached by the university. One such item concerns the cracked lenses over the lights in the Andy Holt Avenue Garage.
Eight of the items were referred to the City of Knoxville to determine the need for corrective action, 15 were deferred for one year for budgetary purposes, and three were referred to the Knoxville Utilities Board for action.
Several more were deemed unworthy of action on the part of facilities services because there was either no imminent safety danger or the problem found is on private property.
Vice President of Operations Phil Scheurer said he supports the SGA’s initiative in rectifying campus safety concerns.
“The input the student government provides every year is very valuable,” he said.
