As anatomy major Maria Torres slowly makes her way to the parking structure at night, she fears for her safety along with many students.

But Chief of Police Mike Trevis said officials are putting an emphasis on safety this semester in an effort to relieve students of fear.

Torres, 21, was informed of the assaults at the parking structures and campus last semester.

She is taking a class at night and fears that one day, she might get assaulted because of her dim and quiet surroundings.

“I’m definitely scared,” Torres said. “I mean, at night I walk to the structure by myself and it is so dark out there. Who knows what can happen, I might get mugged.”

Trevis said safety is a major concern that will take a team effort among students and faculty to be resolved.

“You go to the mall, airports and other schools out there, and you see it happening, and it is a major concern here since so many people have been attacked. We all must work together to fix the issue.”

In order to fix the problem, Trevis said there are some solutions that everyone must understand.

First, students who go to school at night should walk in groups and avoid parking indark places.

“For students at night, find a walking buddy, or go with a group to walk with,” Trevis said.

Second, Trevis explained that people should pay more attention to where they are going and what they are doing.

“People need to pay more attention to what they are doing,” Trevis said. “I see it all the time, people walk around with their music devices on and not paying attention. It is really a concern.”

With concerns lurking around campus regarding safety, Megan Nishiyama, music major, believes there should be more surveillance cameras around campus.

“It would be cool to have them at certain areas, especially at structures so that cops are aware of what’s going on,” Nishiyama said. “Personally, I would feel more at ease to know that there is a second set of eyes to look out for me.”

Trevis explained how the police department will place certain surveillance cameras in discreet areas for campus protection so that people will feel safer.

“We will be adding additional cameras on campus,” Trevis said.” “We will be having them on certain areas to make sure everything is OK.”

Trevis wants the students to have more communication with the cadets and police officers so that problems will be made aware of.

“This semester, we will have more cadets and officers walking around campus for added security,” Trevis said. “We want to communicate more with the students so that we can be aware of issues that need to be fixed.”

Trevis also explained that students should not hesitate to use the resources around them whenever facing an issue.

“When your instincts tell you that something is not right, use the blue phones on the structures, talk to cadets and officers,” Trevis said. “Report the problems, otherwise, we will not know of them and they will not be resolved.”

With regard to people who are not students walking around campus, Trevis said he appreciates how EC is an open campus, but he explained that non-students will be escorted off campus if they are being disruptive.

“We have people who jog on our tracks, read the newspaper in our libraries, buy snacks from our stores, which is perfectly OK. But, if they become disruptive, we will escort them off campus,” Trevis said.

Trevis said the school and police department are aware of the issues and safety is a primary focus heading into the semester.

“School safety has always been our primary concern,” Trevis said. “But it takes a team effort along with students and faculty to ensure safety and peace for everyone.”