Columbia College Chicago is on a mission to protect its students— especially during the holiday season. The Security Escort Program was created to improve the travel safety of students and employees between campus locations. It also offers transportation from campus locations to predesignated CTA and Metra transit stations.
The Security Escort Program focuses on the night and after hour services, with availability between 6pm and 1am during the fall and spring semesters for many frequently traveled student transit locations. Guidelines include a valid Columbia College Chicago identification card to ride, one passenger at a time maximum, and riders can’t reserve, among many others. To ensure the safety of the students and the security escort, rules and prohibitions are set into place that must be followed to prevent loss of access to the service. The college code of conduct must be followed and transferring a Columbia identification card to another person is prohibited.
While many students and employees are grateful for the service in the fall and spring, it’s crucial to use it as robberies in Chicago increase during the holiday season. ABC 7 News reports that a violent string of robberies in the city’s Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods targeted at least five victims in one night. In one of the incidents, a 30-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were walking on a sidewalk when three suspects armed with handguns demanded their personal property. The suspects struck the man in the face with a gun before fleeing, police said.
Armed robberies are not the only criminal activity increasing in the city; businesses and residents are becoming victims of a smash, grab and go trend. ABC 7 News reports that as the holiday shopping season is in full effect, downtown Chicago businesses all have the same concern—Safety. Stores are seeing a large group of thieves’ bum rush stores and steal hundreds and thousands of merchandise— scaring off customers in the process. State Rep. La Shawn Ford spoke about not allowing these incidents to tear apart Chicago.
“We have to send a strong message that it’s unacceptable and that if you do, we have to arrest you. But once you arrest them, you have to help them”, State Rep. La Shawn Ford said.
Meanwhile, Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot claims some retailers are not doing their part to protect their businesses. “I’m disappointed that they’re not doing more to take safety and make it a priority.”, she said.
CBS Chicago reports that residents in Chicago’s Humboldt Park and Ukrainian Village neighborhoods joined forces to catch one of the plethora of porch pirates in the city. Thieves are walking up to residents’ porches or sending children to grab unattended packages and run.
Safety in Chicago continues to be a huge concern for students, residents, and businesses. The Chicago police department has increased patrols in certain areas, but more Colleges like Columbia should do their part.
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Blavity U Ambassador Lashaunta Moore is a Graduate student at Columbia College Chicago, studying entrepreneurship for creatives. With a bachelor’s degree in media communication, she’s also a freelance journalist and digital content producer who enjoys writing about all forms of news.
