By Anis Shakirah Mohd Muslimin
[email protected]

The discussion between the University of Iowa Student Government and the UI Public Safety Department to expand Nite Ride services to include men continues.

“We are in active discussions with UISG, but there are no details yet,” said David Visin, the UI interim assistant vice president for Public Safety.

Nite Ride started in 2007 as a safe means of transportation for women.

UISG came up with the idea to expand the Nite Ride service to males because both student-government parties this spring ran on the idea that Nite Ride should be available to all students, UISG President Liz Mills said.

“UISG and [the Graduate and Professional Student Government] are pushing it because it is a concern we have heard across the student population that this service should be expanded,” Mills said.

Thus far, not much information can be shared or confirmed by UI Public Safety because of ongoing conversations with UISG, Visin said.

““Some hope to mimic the current Nite Ride service without cannibalizing what we provide now,” he said.

,” Mills said. “The model UISG hopes to adopt depends on the resource the UISG, Graduate and Professional Student Government, and UI administration can allocate for Nite Ride.”

Funded by the Public Safety Department, Nite Ride vehicles cost approximately $60,000 each and annual operation costs are approximately $100,000 a year.

According to statistics from Public Safety, the service gave 26,000 rides in 2014.

The idea to expand the ride to both sexes has received mostly positive feedback from students.

“I think it’s great; sexual assault is not just toward women nowadays, men are definitely prone to getting assaulted, too,” UI senior Katie Houser said.

UI sophomore Jared Blad said he believes it is only fair for both women and men to be able to use Nite Ride if necessary.

“I think it’s a good idea because men need to be protected as well,” said UI junior Fiona Yeo.

Many UI students feel the expansion would be fine as long as the sexes were separate.

“If the point of it is to be safety for females, then it should probably be separate from the male Nite Ride,” UI senior Mercedez Bradley said.

UI senior Aaron Davis said separating the sexes would be ideal, but it would create a problem if couples wanted to ride together.

“I think it would be more convenient to ride together,” he said.

Despite ongoing talks to provide night transportation for males, not all male students feel they need to have such a service.

“I don’t think we need Nite Ride for men, because it seems to be a question of safety, and men typically feel safer, whereas women don’t,” UI junior Caleb Schiller said. “I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to it, but I’m not going to push for it.”