Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

As a resident of Disert Hall, I am relatively far away from many of the buildings where classes take place. Yes, there are some dormitories farther away than mine and the walk really is not that far overall. However, the lighting throughout campus and in the parking lot is very spread out. At night, even when the lights are turned on it is still too dark to see most of my surroundings. While walking to and from night classes or my car does not seem that far of a distance, it can feel like miles apart when it is too dark to see.

It can be extremely hard for students to see their surroundings now that the nights are getting darker much earlier. With very little lighting near dormitories and the parking lot, students may not feel safe walking alone. A 2007 campus sexual assault study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that 1 in 5 women are targets of attempted or completed sexual assault while they are college students, compared to about 1 in 16 college men. With those statistics, there is no wonder why so many students feel uncomfortable walking alone at night. Also because the lighting in the parking lots are not very bright, it can be very difficult to see students and faculty walking in the road at night. This could obviously result in bodily harm to those walking and driving. Some people suffer from vision impairment at night and cannot control the fact that they have an even harder time seeing when it is dark. Driving at night with those impairments could be deadly if someone is walking in the road.

Wilson College should add a few more lights around the dorms and throughout the parking lot. The fear students have while walking alone at night could be diminished if there was better lighting throughout campus. Adding better lighting could also prevent an attack from happening to the students living at or visiting Wilson and could potentially even save a life. It could also help improve the life of those living on campus who are vision impaired.

I understand that adding more lights throughout campus could become costly depending on how many are added. I also understand that the administration might argue that students should make sure they always have a friend with them or that they have never had a problem with the lighting before. However, this is a college campus that is supposed to be extremely safe and safety should be more important than saving money. If something were to happen to a student while on campus because of lighting issues, I am sure that would become a huge issue for the school.

I strongly urge the administration of Wilson College to add more lighting near the school’s dormitories and parking lots. The cost in doing this would be well worth it if these lights potentially help save a student or faculty member’s life. These lights will help students feel less anxious walking alone at night, help them see better without the aid of their phone’s flashlight, and help them notice other students or faculty in the road while driving.

Sincerely,
Kaitlynn Gordy

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