Lobo Lift to launch, other ASUNM campus safety initiatives

The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) are tackling the student complaint they receive the most-safety.

"It's the big thing students are worried about," said ASUNM President Andrew Norton. "We don't want students to ever fear having to go to school."

The first item on their initiatives list is launching Lobo Lift in the spring. It will provide students who live on campus with a ride back to their dorm in the evenings after late classes.

In total, there will be three carts traveling around campus. Lobo Lift will employ 6 students who will be trained and certified by UNM's Parking and Transportation Services (PATS).

The idea has been in the works for a few years but had hit funding issues to keep it going long-term. Given the rise of security issues on campus, the funding was provided primarily by President Stokes, and made possible by Shawna Wolfe, Institutional Support Services (ISS), Shawn Arruti, and PATS.

The plan is for each cart to have police-monitoring cameras recording the students inside the cart as well as outside. The carts will have 4 or 6 seats and will have the ability to be sealed in the cold-weather months.

"With all of our initiatives, we worked to make sure they can be flexible and scalable so they can be successful and expand as much as needed," said ASUNM Vice President Hope Montoya. "When it comes to being a student on campus, sometimes the feeling of safety matters as much as the actual safety. So having a visible peer-driven escort might be more accessible for students."

Sororities on campus have voiced concerns about safety along Sigma Chi Rd. and T-Lot. Norton said they met with the UNM Police Department and the President's Office to get more police patrols in the area, aiming to bring officers around there every hour or so.

"It's incredible because since putting that in place, we've heard zero complaints, which is the first time in my entire time at UNM that T-lot hasn't had an incident in a month," Norton said.

Additionally, the Director of Housing and Campus Affairs will work with resident advisors every month to address safety concerns. The brand-new position will serve as a liaison between student residents and UNM PD.

Norton said ASUNM's Governmental Affairs intends to make their legislative request safety oriented and are working on finalizing that plan.

ASUNM is in the planning stages with ISS on digital IDs. The idea is to reduce the ability for students to share Lobo ID's and once a student graduates, it won't allow them to have access to their old student ID.

"At the end of the day, we work for each and every single Lobo. What matters to one student, matters to all. We have a responsibility to answer the concerns that are present on campus, and that's what we're doing with these initiatives," said Norton.