Out of 25 students asked if they had ever ridden on Safe Ride, only four of them said they hadn’t. But if it is so popular campus wide, why is there such a shortfall of volunteers willing to drive?

With incentives like food and getting paid, why wouldn’t any hungry and money-lacking college student want to drive or volunteer?

“The problem that I run into is that the same people are volunteering forSafe Ride. Something does not sit right with me calling on the same people night after night to make Safe Ride happen for all these people,” said Adam Diemar, senior and first-year coordinator of Safe Ride.

Diemarexplained that the Safe Ride program is extremely popular with most college students on campus, but the number of people coming forward to volunteer is far less than what is expected. And with the increase of enrollment at the college and the new hype that a bar in Rutland the Local has created, demands from students are coming for Safe Ride to expand their nights.

With Safe Ride already planned for every weekend of the year and volunteers already slim for those nights, Wednesdays -another popular night for partying – has been tough to cover, Diemar said.

 “The biggest problem with Safe Ride, I would assume, from the point of view of the person using Safe Ride, is that it has not run every night that we had planned to run,” said Diemar. 

                Another reoccurring problem with Safe Ride seems to be the abuse by people using it as an easy way to get from one party to another. The purpose of the program is to get partiers home safely, home being the key word. 

Butdriver Wayne Thornton said that intent isn’t being adhered to.

“Yeah it’s something that happens all the time because you don’t know if they live there or not,” he said. And when asked how often this happens he said “I don’t know quite a bit, hard to put a number to it, but at least six to seven times a night.”

                Sophomore Grant Davis spoke about how Safe Ride has been different throughout his two years here and also spoke about how the idea is a great way to be safe.

“I think Safe Ride is a great campus idea giving the students a safe alternative to get where they’re going,” he said to start off.

 But when asked about his thoughts about the lack of volunteerism, his tone changed.

 “I think that is quite a problem. For the amount of people that use it there should be more people stepping up to help,” he said, adding that he would consider it, but he can’tbecause to get a fleet license you have to be 21. 

                With the campus is growing every year and withpeople looking for more ways to explore and get out and get home safely, some like Diemar question whether Safe Ride will continue to be a viable option.

“The point that I am trying to make is that for Safe Ride to run, there will have to be more of a shared effort from the campus community as to not put all the strain on the select few that always seem to be helping out,” he said.