From checking locks to recording emergency response times, safety measures on campus could get a double-check if a new plan from the Student Government Association gets implemented.

Monticello junior Shawn Peavie, chair of the campus improvements committee, announced at last Tuesday’s meeting that they are looking into creating a campus safety commission to test safety practices on the Hill.

The commission could have either SGA or dorm representatives.

“Right now, I think campus safety is probably the biggest issue,” Peavie said. “A lot of things have happened, not only here but at other universities.”

Peavie said the commission is currently just an idea, and it would have to come to congress and be approved by the university after the proper legislation is written.

The commission idea was spawned from a student’s concern about how quickly help would get to a student in an emergency situation who was between a distant lot and their dorm.

“Students know best what is safe and unsafe about their environments,” Adairville junior John Law said.

Law, an SGA member, said the commission would be similar to Western’s annual campus walk to check safety.

The commission would be made up entirely of students and would meet more often than the safety walk, he said. And unlike the safety walk, it would not be advertised.

Students have an immediate chance to speak out on safety issues.

SGA is hosting a campus safety forum today at 4 p.m. in Downing University Center, Room 305.

The forum will have a panel made up of university leaders, campus police officers and others involved campus safety.

“It’s a forum for students to ask questions and express concerns,” SGA President John Bradley said.

Charlotte Reeder, director of Environmental Health and Safety, said it is important for students to come to tonight’s forum.

She will be one of the panelists.

“The more informed a student is, the more likely they’ll react properly to an emergency situation,” she said.

Reach Lindsey Reed at [email protected].