Blog 3 SafeRide Vouchers

Students feel University of Oklahoma’s new SafeRide voucher system is more about saving money than providing safety for their students.   

The new voucher system was enforced July 16 after concerns were voiced to OU Student Affairs that the SafeRide system was being abused. According to OU Student Affairs, the new system is benefiting students by reducing wait times, allowing students to share vouchers and opening the service every weekend of the year.

Not all students agree that the pros of the new voucher system are outweighing the cons of the old. The purpose of SafeRide is to provide safety for the students. The new schedule limits SafeRide to Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. How can the University of Oklahoma put limits on student safety?

The issue should not be students abusing the system and potentially wasting university money, the issue is limiting safety to only three nights a week. The new system prioritizes students who need a designated driver and neglects the students who are on campus late and don’t feel safe walking home.

“The University is making it harder for students to find designated drivers,” OU junior Marie Giuffreda said. “Students will be more inclined to drive drunk because they don’t remember to pick up a voucher and can’t call SafeRide.”

Some students feel it is unrealistic for OU to expect its students to plan far enough ahead to pick up vouchers on campus before going out.   

“Let’s be honest, how many college students are planning ahead to get their vouchers,” OU graduate student Kelli Goodrich said. “People don’t even know what they’re doing at 10:30 that night let alone days in advance to stop by the SafeRide office.”

A petition has been filed to end the voucher requirement for SafeRide. “OU is effectively dismantling the function of the SafeRide program,” petition organizer P.J. Daugherty said. “The program can’t rely on an army of sober people to pick up vouchers and then go to bars to save intoxicated students who didn’t plan ahead.”

If this SafeRide system continues, students should be able to download vouchers online at their convenience instead going into the SafeRide office every week.

“One of the best things about the old system was that it wasn’t judgmental,” Giuffreda said. “Now we’re supposed to stand in line for vouchers with other students basically admitting that we’re going to be irresponsible this weekend.”