If Destination 2010 is truly the direction that Sacramento State is taking, and since we as students are helping to pay for a new recreation and wellness center, then we should probably install one or two campus police call boxes near Hornet Crossing. To those unfamiliar with the crossing, it is a walkway that students and pedestrians access throughout the day, but life on the crossing evolves dramatically from day to night. During the day, students use the path to avoid parking fees and traffic, while citizens stroll through the path to walk dogs, stop at the taqueria across the street or to the light rail station.

The student lofts that will soon open near Folsom Boulevard and 65th Street will increase the foot traffic. Many students will be walking since the lofts will have few parking spots and few students will have the ability to drive to campus. Hornet Crossing will be their point of access.

At sundown, the casual and relaxed demeanor of those making the crossing changes. People walk faster and hold their belongings close to their bodies. Most specialty stores close soon after dark, and the street eerily resembles old Detroit. At night, homeless people can be seen carrying sacks of clothes and cans while the others, presumably mentally unstable, stammer and stumble about. For anyone trekking across campus late in the evening, a stroll through Hornet Crossing can be a passage into another world.

The Hornet Crossing is a concrete path roughly 10 feet wide, and it runs underneath the railroad tracks near Folsom and Elvas. Lights line one side of the crossing, and a chain link fence runs the span of the pathway on both sides. It can be argued that the lighting Sac State is responsible for on Hornet Crossing is more than sufficient. But sufficient in this case is not good enough.

The recreation and wellness center is part of a larger facelift that Sac State is currently receiving. The improved sports and fitness facilities will bring larger crowds to Sac State events, and security needs to be ensured. Security call boxes need to be installed by the Hornet Crossing so that students can call for a security escort if necessary.

If nothing is done to improve the safety of the crossing, then it is reasonable to argue that sometime in the future, someone will be walking home through the crossing and get mugged – or worse – and then the whole school will panic and demand action from the administration. Or we could just put some security call boxes in the ground right now, while the construction is going on.