Sacramento state is known for being a commuter school because there is a greater number of students living off campus than on campus. Many students drive to school, but a significant amount of the Sac State population get to campus by bike or foot.

Depending on the route and time of day, students can expect a safe commute. However, for the early morning gym sessions, or late nights of studying, the walk or bike ride home in the dark can be a risk.

Students utilize the American River Bike Trail to and from school and more than five different apartment complexes are located on either side of the river. However, although there is an ample amount of Sac State students walking to and from class in these areas, there is close to no lighting to ensure safety.

Depending on how far students must travel down the bike trail, students must dip down below the bridges of Howe and Watt in order to continue on their route.

The organization Safe Rides through Sac State, is one safe option of getting home, but they only operate Wednesday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., so this does not help early morning trail commuters or late night trail commuters Sunday through Tuesday.

When looking at the Sacramento Police Department Website, Sacramento is broken down into six different districts. Areas such as Campus Commons, College Glen, College Town, Colonial Village, Sac State, and other parts of East Sacramento, are included in District six. In February alone, District six experienced 333 reported crimes. The other five district’s number of crimes did not exceed 260.

District six experienced three reported rapes, 14 robberies, 37 aggravated assaults, 72 burglaries, 160 crimes of larceny and 47 vehicle theft reports.

These reports prompt the question, since there are Sac State students commuting along the bike trail which winds through these areas of risk, why haven’t safety precautions been set to ensure a well lit travel for students?

Sac State students commented on the lack of trail lighting.

“Adding lights along the levee would make it safer for students who walk across it at night,” said Sac State student David Lara, who lives in the Twelve55 apartment complex. “Especially on the side opposite of campus; a lot of college students live in those two apartment complexes where there are no campus police, so once we cross the bridge we’re pretty much on our own,”

Student Jacquline Shawver has been approached by a stranger on the trail recently.

“Just the other day, I was walking to school on the Guy West Bridge and I was approached by a man on a bike,” Shawver said. “He was definitely not a student, but he followed me onto campus and was asking about my name and said he wanted to get to know me. That was in the middle of the day, with people around. He had no hesitation, and it made me extremely paranoid to walk home after class when I knew he had seen where I had come from, I knew it would be dark on the trail, and less people would be around.”

Tommy Crosbie, a Sac State student, has noticed women feel unsafe walking alone.

“I’ve had women on multiple occasions ask me to walk them to their apartments and cars because they felt uncomfortable with the lack of light,” said Crosbie, who also lives in the Twelve55 apartment complex.

Sac State offers self defense classes each fall and spring semester that can instill understanding for what to do in a life-threatening situation.