Overall Assessment

The Campus Safety Coalition has chosen a meaningful and winnable issue area — campus safety — and has submitted three demands that address real concerns. However, each demand needs to be made more specific, concrete, and measurable, and the target needs to be reconsidered for at least one of the demands. Here is detailed feedback on each demand and the target.

Demand 1: Lighting

Current: "Campus Safety Coalition demands the improvement of lighting on campus."

What works: The demand is on the right track — lighting is a concrete, visible, and winnable issue.

What needs to improve:

• The demand is too vague. "Improvement of lighting" does not require a yes or no answer because it is unclear what "improvement" means. How many lights? In which specific locations (e.g., parking lots, walkways between buildings, entrances)? What kind of fixtures?
• There is no cost included. Research how much it would cost to install or upgrade lighting in the identified areas and include that dollar amount.
• The demand should be stated in a single sentence in the recommended format.

Suggested revision:

Campus Safety Coalition demands that the University of Akron install [X number] of additional lighting fixtures along [specific walkways/parking lots/areas] on campus, at a cost of $??,???.

Demand 2: ID Readers for Doors and Buildings

Current: "Campus Safety Coalition demands the use of ID readers for doors and buildings on campus."

What works: This is a specific, measurable, and binary (yes/no) type of demand. Good instinct.

What needs to improve:

• "Doors and buildings on campus" is too broad. Which specific buildings or entry points? Prioritize the locations that are most urgent for safety and make the demand about those.
• No cost is included. Research the cost of ID reader installation for the targeted buildings and include it.
• The phrasing "use of ID readers" is slightly passive. Restate it so the university is the actor doing the installing.

Suggested revision:

Campus Safety Coalition demands that the University of Akron install ID card readers on all exterior entry doors of [specific buildings, e.g., residence halls and the student union] on campus, at a cost of $??,???.

Demand 3: Foot Patrol and Community-Based Police Presence

Current: "Campus Safety Coalition demands an increase in foot patrol and a more community-based presence of police."

What needs to improve:

• This demand is actually two demands in one — an increase in foot patrol, and a shift to community-based policing. Consider whether these can be combined into one clear, binary demand, or whether they should be separated.
• "An increase in foot patrol" is not measurable. How many additional officers or hours of patrol per week?
• "A more community-based presence of police" is vague and does not require a yes or no answer. What does community-based mean specifically? For example: monthly town halls with students, officers assigned to specific residence halls, etc.
• No cost is included. How many additional officers or hours would this require, and what would that cost?

Suggested revision (option):

Campus Safety Coalition demands that the University of Akron increase foot patrols in [specific areas] by [X] officers or [X] hours per week, and require campus police to hold monthly community meetings with students, at a cost of $??,??? per year.

Target: Mr. James C. Haskell, Manager, Construction & Space Planning

What needs to improve:

• Mr. Haskell may be an appropriate target for Demands 1 and 2 (lighting and ID readers), since both relate to physical infrastructure and construction/facilities.
• However, he is likely not the correct target for Demand 3 (foot patrol and community policing), as this falls under campus safety operations, not construction or space planning. For Demand 3, the students should identify the Director of Campus Safety or the equivalent at the University of Akron, or possibly the VP of Student Affairs if the Director does not have the budget authority.
• The students should verify that Mr. Haskell has the actual authority and budget to approve the lighting and ID reader installations. If he does not have budget authority, they may need to go up one level — for example, to the VP of Facilities or equivalent.
• A good next step: meet with Mr. Haskell first (or a staff member in his office) to confirm his role and authority before making a formal demand.

Recommended targets by demand:

• Demands 1 & 2 (lighting and ID readers): Mr. James C. Haskell, Manager, Construction & Space Planning — confirm he has budget authority; if not, identify the next person up.
• Demand 3 (foot patrol and community policing): Identify the Director of Campus Safety/Police at the University of Akron. If that person says no, the next step would be the VP of Student Affairs.

Summary Table