Student government hosted the first of a two-night safety walk Monday night, with the second walk happening Thursday.

Seth Yeakel, committee chair of university enhancements on student government, said the goal of the walk is to try and consistently make students feel comfortable at Eastern.

“This walk consists of students and administration looking to increase safety on campus,” Yeakel said. “We go around in the hopes of trying to find areas that are repairable (and) areas that we deem unsafe for students in general.”

The walk happens annually because of a requirement in student government bylaws, said Ethan Osborne, internal affairs committee chairman on student government.

Last year, the walk happened in one night with volunteers spending around four hours checking out any safety hazards on campus.

This is Yeakel’s first year leading the walk, and he said he decided to split it up into a two-night affair this semester.

He also hopes to do a walk next semester as well, as opposed to doing the walk one time a year.

Yeakel said there are a few things in specific the volunteers are looking for.

“Lighting is on the top of the list,” he said. “4th street is also on the top of the list, and then concrete (is up there too).”

After the data from the two nights is collected, Yeakel will create a summary report that will be shared with student government and with administration, as well as a follow-up report next semester on what was fixed.

Osborne said Yeakel had expanded the walk this year by trying to get more organizations involved and more feedback from students.

Caitlyn Gastfield, adviser to internal affairs committee and university enhancements committee, said these walks are especially important for students who live in dorms.

“I think (the safety walk) is important because we have these students living on this campus, it’s kind of their home away from home, and we want to make sure that it’s safe,” Gastfield said. “For (students) to focus on school and other activities, we need to make sure they’re in a safe environment so that they feel comfortable doing all those other things.”

Osborne said this walk is also important to improve campus as a whole.

“I think (the walk) really keeps us aware of like our campus; we always preach that we’re one of the top five safest campuses in the nation, and I feel like we … (should) always strive to get better,” Osborne said. “Even though we’re number two (safest), what’s keeping us from number one?”

Brooke Schwartz can be reached at 581-2812 or at bsschwartz@eiu.edu.