The parents of University of California Berkeley students have ponied up more than $40,000 in funding for private security - which they claim is necessary in the face of violent crime around the college.
The private security force will patrol the Berkeley campus every night from 6:30 PM until 3:00 a.m., through March 23.
"The fact is if they're not going to act, despite repeated pleas from parents and students to take more substantial action, then we're going to act," Sagar Jethani, the parent of two Berkeley students, told KPIX.
Jethani is the president of SafeBears, the non-profit organization that hired the new guards. The SafeBears website boasts more than 1,300 members who are "working to improve safety for UC Berkeley students through strategic planning, advocacy, and outreach."
The guards are expected to patrol the campus on foot and on bicycles throughout March, though SafeBears' goal is to pressure the university to eventually invest more in on-campus safety.
"We want to, frankly, turn up the heat with the administration," Jethani told KPIX. "We want to show that we're not content to just wait forever to have these safety ambassadors deployed."
While some students have expressed support for the security force - citing concerns about a spike in the crime rate, others have questioned whether such measures will be effective.
"I guess I wonder what their approach is supposed to be," a student named Heidi told KPIX. "If suddenly someone appeared like out of the blue. What proactive measures are they ready to take?"
Another student - Rebekah - told the outlet that she had been the victim of two armed robberies, one of which resulted in her losing her car.
"I feel like, when I'm walking the streets, I'm always scared. I'm always looking around," she said.
Rebekah added that while she hopes the security force will help students, real change will require a broader set of changes.
"I think there are actions that can be taken at multiple levels. At the university level, city level and state level."
