The Apportionment Board held its second meeting on Thursday to consider allocating $100 from the Student Government reserve account to fund a student safety project.

Jason Sandidge, chair of the University Development and Recycling committee, appealed to the board for funding to set up a mock trial safety escort service on campus.

“About two months ago, we did a safety walk and found out that the main concerns were that people didn’t like walking around alone at night,” Sandidge said. “This is just for students who feel like they need a little extra assistance so there’s someone there to have their back.”

In a unanimous decision, the board voted 8-0-0 to supply the money, which will be used to purchase four polyester vests for the purpose of public identification, as well as prepaid cell phones and extra minutes to contact students in need of assistance.

Sandidge intends to set $20 of that money aside for discretionary emergency use only.

Michael Whildin, a member of the UDR committee, said there was a good chance the committee would not use all the money.

“It’s kind of just a cushion,” Whildin said. “We’re looking into seeing if there’s a phone in the lounge so we can cut down on the cost of cell phones.”

The committee obtained the idea of hosting the mock service from other schools, including Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, which have implemented similar programs on campus.

“We haven’t heard of any negatives thus far,” Whildin said.

The mock trial will be held on Dec. 4 and 5 from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Volunteers who would like to participate will meet in the study lounge of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union to respond to phone calls from students requesting an escort home.

Volunteers will then note where the students are located, how many are present, and where they would like to go. From there, two will be sent out clad in safety vests to escort the party to their destination.

According to Sandidge, the mock trial’s purpose is to determine whether an escort service is needed or in demand. Should the trial be successful with students utilizing the service, the UDR committee will present the data gathered from that weekend to the administration and request a permanent service everyday.

This would necessitate establishing paid positions for a full-time staff, Sandidge said.

He and Whildin have considered distributing cards with their contact information to raise awareness about the event and to generate feedback.

Some questioned the purpose of a safety escort service in addition to a campus police force.

Sandidge reminded the board that the campus police are there to protect students in the event of an emergency.

“They’re not there to escort students in need from point A to point B,” Sandidge said.

Patrick Lindstrom of the AB agreed.

“Where I can see our concern being is that this might not work,” Lindstrom said. “It’s kind of a $100 experiment, but if it’s money spent on student safety, that comes first.”

Fellow board member Robert Williams was not concerned about the amount.

“It’s only $100,” Williams said. “We have $18,000 in the account.”

More information regarding the mock trial safety escort service will be made available pending allocation approval from the Student Senate.

Erica Whelan can be reached at 581-7942 or elwhelan@eiu.edu.