Introduction:
Kansas State University is one of the strongest universities in the Mid-West. It has a beautiful campus filled with many green trees and breathtaking views. However, when it turns dark the campus’s unique features are changed into dangerously dark corners, and hard to navigate dim sidewalks. The reality is that the lighting infrastructure used on the campus has not been adequately updated to reflect the campus’s growth, the increase in on-campus activity after dark, or the changes in society that demand light in order to ensure safety. I, therefore, propose that the campus needs to double the current lighting in outdoor areas, and along sidewalk, in order to make the campus, both easier to navigate for new members of the Kansas State University Community, and safer for those traveling across campus at night.
The problem with the current lighting is that while the campus has grown, adding more students, more expensive landscaping, new buildings and a more intricate sidewalk system, the slighting infrastructure has remained lategesl unchanged. This is an issue because it leaves certain areas of the campus less well-lit, or totally dark, while others are light enough to be safe. The lighting infrastructure is needed both to ensure that students can navigate the large campus in the dark, and to protect students from potential threats that might occur in areas that are not well lit. Nighttime lighting is a major concern as it relates to campus safety conditions. A foundational study of criminal behavior, by Merry (1981) found that crime opportunities occur in places where the perpetrator feels they are least likely to be observed, as such dark places, or places where pathways are both enclosed and poorly lit are the preferred areas for staging criminal attacks (Merry, 1981). This is significant because the beautiful, and ornate landscaping, and various buildings on the campus create dark, and secluded areas which are exactly the kind of area that an opportunistic criminal might use to stage their attack. Similarly, a women’s safety audit found that inadequate lighting in public spaces greatly contributed to women’s insecurities, and put her at greater risk of attack (Un-Habitat, 2007). These, and other similar evidences demonstrate that providing adequate lighting enhances not only the physical safety and navigability of the campus, but also the students’ feeling of security when traveling across the campus at night
Solution:
The University recognizes that campus and exterior building lighting is needed to address adequately to maintain the personal safety requirements of students, faculty and campus visitors without significantly damaging its nighttime visual qualities. The solution is simple and maybe a bit costly. The campus as we know it is rather vast, so trying to find the right spots to dig and buying new poles with their light bulbs can be a bit pricy for the university and it’s board members. Students can start a funding where they can raise money with most of the students chipping in and In that way the university will have nothing to complain about if the money were to be raised. In costing of the light poles, the lights will be added in specific areas, where the university has received complaints about. Furthermore, the university will have to find the right engineers to pursue this task, which will also be expensive. The board members will have to set a meeting to straighten out what they want to do for this project. Discussing where exactly they will be wanting to add the lights and choosing what type of lights; for instance, LED, high-intensity bulbs, line voltage, or even low voltage lights. Adding more lights will definitely put the university in a much safer environment, to not only its students and staff, but also to the people of Kansas, national visitors, and international visitors.
More specifically, it is recommended that a total of 500 LED lights be added along sidewalks and in parking lots. The initial cost, per fixture is $799, not including installation. These lights are available through Titan LED, and will be installed by the company as a part of the purchase price (Jenkins & Dahlen, 2015).
Justification:
Lights for every campus, city, and home are important. Basically adding more lights in the campus of Kansas State University will make it a safer place. The campus is huge and has many places for a beautiful scenery and landscape. When the sun is out in Manhattan, Kansas you will get to observe the campus in a better way. The classic buildings all around campus, as well as the motivation banners that are put on the light poles to see in the day time and assisting the students to stay motivated and show your school spirit by adding beautiful, attention-grabbing light pole banners to your campus parking lots. These banners guidelines are intended to provide information on creating banners that are appropriate for campus display and provide useful information. The banners are only used to promote events sponsored by university schools, colleges and departments. Moreover, when the sunsets the lights automatically come on; however, not all of them and also not in many corners of the university. Concentrating on this problem can make a spectacular difference for the university. Every night a man on patrol drives around campus checking if some of the light bulbs are out, if yes, he instantly gets his ladder and replaces the light bulb. There are many solutions for this problem; furthermore, the most important solution is adding more light poles for the university. Of course there will be money that will get spent, but it will be all for a good cause. Not all students in Kansas State University own cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles, they walk home. Students might have to walk long distances just making it home from the university, but they would like to do it without using their phones flashlight to help them lead their own way home. Recommending Walkway Lighting in the university campuses is preferred and these lights are found on paths and walkways, roads and parking lots, common areas and dorm ground and finally campus buildings. These lights should create an atmosphere of safety and accessibility, while adding a visual appeal of the grounds. It gives a blend of beauty and safety with our line of walkway and also gives a vintage look around the campus. There are different types of light poles that can be installed from having a high grade material with a led lighting to a classic old fashioned light poles, so when talking about cost of installation you can choose the one that fits your budget. Also, the poles can help when the weather is raining or its foggy outside and can help not even the people who are walking but the people who are driving across campus. There are also some poles that are solar and environmental friendly and being like that gives the university more efficient source of electricity and helps the plants that are around the poles from dying, but these type of poles are expensive but can be easily installed so when making a decision you should find the best fit for your campus and area. Lastly, adding more poles around campus is a must to give safety to the students at night and bad weather conditions, also it kind of decorates the campus by giving a nice touch from the reflection of the classic buildings we have.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a walk around the campus at night quickly reveals that there is not adequate lighting to make walkways and parking lots safe for the campus community. This is a major safety issue, and must be addressed in order to ensure that the campus infrastructure is growing at the same rate as enrollment and campus profile. In order to ensure that the campus remains safe and is adequately lit, a total of 500 new lights should be added along walk ways and in parking lots. It is recommended that Titan LED be contracted to provide a low-cost, long term, solution to the campus’s lighting needs.
Works Cited:
Jenkins, P. & Dahlen, J. (2015). Bright Ideas. University of Wisconsin-Stout, Retrieved from http://www.uwstout.edu/sustainability/upload/ExteriorLighting_FinalReport.pdf
Merry, S. E. (1981), “Defensible Space Undefended”. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 16, 397- 422.
UN-HABITAT. Women's Safety Audits for a Safer Urban Design. Rep. Warsaw: United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2007.
