Improving campus lighting was one of Government of the Student Body President Bryan Burkhardt’s campaign promises in last spring’s GSB elections.

Tonight, he will work toward taking action on the issue in a meeting with many Iowa State administrators and organizations.

Included in the meeting will be officials from the Department of Public Safety and Facilities and Planning Management, as well as Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Hill and Vice President of Business and Finance Warren Madden.

“The meeting will convene at about 6 p.m., and then we will divide into teams and pretty much canvas campus,” Burkhardt said.

Burkhardt said the group will be pinpointing areas on campus where lighting can be improved.

“We are going to be identifying lighting inadequacies such as lights that need to be better maintained, like lights that are out and need to be replaced, or areas of campus that need additional lighting,” he said.

GSB will be working closely with several organizations, including DPS.

“We have members of DPS helping out because they might know some trouble spots and spots where safety may be compromised,” Burkhardt said.

Facilities and Planning Management gave GSB a list of specific problem areas, Burkhardt said.

Burkhardt said he also will be asking for help regarding funding from the GSB senate.

“We hope to solicit input from senators and students so we can finalize the list and hopefully seek funding through the senate from the special projects account,” he said.

Madden said the meeting would basically be a review of already ongoing efforts to improve safety.

“We have been making lighting improvements on an ongoing basis — this is not a new issue,” he said. “This is really a review and update of much of the work that’s already been done. Sometimes what comes out of these reviews is an area where we need to trim shrubbery or modify plant materials around the area.”

Madden said another thing that might need to be examined is traffic patterns of students.

“Part of the purpose is to identify areas where students in reasonable numbers are traveling,” he said. “I think it is a great opportunity to educate students on the tour.”

Madden said he feels Iowa State is a safe campus, but students still need to use good judgment when traveling.

“The majority of people at Iowa State feel comfortable moving around campus, but I think that like any community with a population of 25,000 people, there are bound to be people that might come from outside the campus, and so people need to exercise good judgment when traveling around,” he said.

Burkhardt said although he also feels the campus is safe, any effort to improve safety would still be welcome.

“I’m very pleased with how safe Iowa State’s campus is, but any attempt that we can make to ensure student safety is crucial,” he said.

Burkhardt said he is optimistic about the lighting survey meeting.

“This is a great way for us to see what progress has been made since recommendations were made this summer,” he said, “and also to identify other problematic areas.”