Kent State University has a very large campus, which can make walking across campus at night alone frightening. Kent State offers security aides as campus escorts for students who don’t feel safe walking alone.

“I really don’t like walking at night when I’m by myself,” said Brooke Matthews, a freshman advertising major. “I know that there are the blue light emergency phones around campus that I can use if I need to, but I’m still paranoid. Having an escort with me when I walk late at night really gives me peace of mind.”

The security aide program at Kent State is made up of 65 trained students. The Department of Residence Services employs all security aides. These aides are required to complete a 40-hour training program yearly.

Security aides patrol the residence halls and provide campus escorts at night. Students can call for an escort between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. seven days a week.

“Most of our time is committed to checking all 25 of our residence halls and making sure the doors are properly locked, checking fire safety equipment and visually observing the areas to make sure it is a safe and secure place where residents feel safe in,” said David Rodenbaugh, senior criminal justice major and security aide supervisor.

Aides are able to escort students to any location on campus.

“The escorts on campus are really convenient,” said Lizz Henrich, a junior fashion design major. “When I used to live on campus I would be walking back from Rockwell really late at night, and I just felt a lot safer when I had a campus escort with me.”

Security aides are in direct contact with each other and with the campus police department.

“Our security aides are in direct communication with the Kent State University Police Department. This helps make students feel safe knowing they are with someone who not only knows the campus very well, but can call the police if anything happens,” Rodenbaugh said.

To get an escort contact the security aide dispatcher at 330-672-7004.

Contact Katie Chilson at [email protected].