Is Saferide’s women-only policy discrimination?
■The University’s free shuttle
service, intended to reduce risk
of sexual assault, is still under
scrutiny for prohibiting men
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Charges of gender discrimina
tion filed against Project Saferide
last year with the Office of Civil
Rights are still “open and under in
vestigation,” according to U.S. De
partment of Education OCR
spokesman Rodger Murphey.
OCR received the complaint
Jan. 31, Murphey said. Under the
Privacy Act of 1972, the name of
the person or persons who filed
the complaint will never be re
leased.
Saferide, a free shuttle service,
is intended to provide transporta
tion to female University students
as an alternative to walking alone
at night and risking sexual assault.
Saferide is recognized by the
ASUO and receives funding from
student incidental fees.
In March, the University re
ceived a letter written by
Nicholas Rock, the OCR investi
gator in charge of the case. The
letter said a complaint alleging
gender discrimination had been
filed against Saferide because
only women can use the service
and drive vehicles.
University General Counsel
Melinda Grier, who handles com
plaints made against the Universi
ty, did not return the Emerald’s
calls by press time.
Saferide was created in 1986 by
a male and a female student who
wanted to offer a service that
would allow women to get around
campus without fear of walking at
night, Saferide co-director Nikki
Fancher said.
The complaint was filed under
Title IX of the Education Amend
ments of 1972, which prohibits
sex discrimination in programs
and activities receiving federal
funds from the U.S. Department
of Education.
But there are several reasons
why the service is open only to
women, Fancher said.
One reason is that statistics
show that the majority of sexual
assault victims are women, while
a majority of attackers are men,
she said.
“Women are disproportionate
ly the victims of violent crimes
here on and around campus,” she
said. “We’re not saying all men
are rapists. But 90 percent of
rapists are men.”
The women-only policy is in
tended to create a “safe space” for
riders, many of whom use the
service because they feel threat
ened by men when they walk, she
said.
If Saferide gave rides to men,
she said, women using Saferide
might perceive the service as be
ing unsafe.
When men call Saferide be
cause they feel unsafe walking,
Fancher said dispatchers refer
them to the Designated Driver
Shuttle or the Department of Pub
lic Safety, both of which can give
rides to men and women.
Not all students who use
Saferide agree that men should be
barred from the service. Graduate
student Manami Imaoka said she
called Saferide once to get a ride
for herself and a male friend, who
had a broken leg. Because they
were denied the service, she had to
walk him home, she said.
Imaoka said she is not against
the idea of Saferide, but because
the program is funded with school
funds, she believes it should be
open to all students. If Saferide co
ordinators feel allowing men to
use the service would compromise
the safety of female riders, they
should offer a similar service to
men, she said.
She added that men, as well as
women, need protection from sex
ual assault.
“Rape is not about sex, it’s about
power,” she said. “I don’t think
gender itself matters.”
But other students say they
would not be comfortable using
the service if men were allowed to
drive or ride in the vans.
Senior Niki Wilkins said open
ing Saferide to men would go
against the mission of the program.
“I think that (letting men use
the service) defeats the purpose,”
she said. “I mean, you don’t usu
ally protect women from women,
right?”
If investigators find that
Saferide’s policy is discriminatory,
OCR will work with the Universi
ty to reach an agreement with the
parties involved, Murphey said.
Kara Cogswell is a student activities reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be
reached at karacogswell@dailyemerald.com.
News briefs
ASUO Student Senate
allocates incidental fee
The ASUO Student Senate decid
ed at Wednesday’s meeting what to
do with incidental fee money left
over from last year. The $137,548 will
be allocated to campus student
groups over the course of the year.
The suggested budget allocates
$26,510 for fall term, $39,764 for win
ter term and $66,274 for spring term,
leaving $5,000 for summer term.
r
Treasurer Kate Kranzush said she
suggested that more money be allo
cated to spring term because stu
dent groups generally hold more
activities in the spring.
In other news, Oregon Student
Association Director Kent Smith
presented to the senate the OSA’s
Fall 2001 Field Campaign, which is
directed towards strengthening the
voice of student governments in
Salem. The OSA is a statewide
coalition of student governments
and organizations that includes the
ASUO.
Smith said the campaign’s mis
sion is specifically to halt budget
cuts, gain control over fees such as
the energy fee and make voting
more accessible to students at the
University. He said the high voter
participation by University stu
dents last year was a surprise to
the state government and in
creased students’ voice in govern
ment, and he wants to see an even
higher voter turnout in the next
election.
Diane Huber
Who let the Duck out?
Find great discounts with
a Duck Buck coupon this
.term at Face the Music..
Cet your Duck Buck coupon clipper
in the Oregon Daily Emerald
on Thursday, October 11, 2001.
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