It's a little after 9 p.m. Much of the campus is dark, and very few people, if any, are walking around.
It's deathly quiet, except for the sound of footsteps. Is that one set of steps or two? Or is it just your imagination?
After their last class lets out, most students walk a short distance to their cars and drive home, safe behind locked doors.
There are many students, however, who live on campus and don't own cars.
At this late hour they are left with two choices: they can walk half a mile through the shadowy campus, which is located in the middle of a less than savory neighborhood; or, they can opt to sit like ducks in the same neighborhood for up to 30 minutes waiting for a shuttle bus to pick them up.
Forget size, bravado or strength. In a city like Houston, this scenario could frighten anybody.
University of Houston Parking and Transportation hires a private contract shuttle service, Texas Bus Lines, to cruise the campus until 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday providing transportation from campus to parking lots and dormitories for students, staff and faculty.
The pamphlet for Parking and Transportation claims to consider "your personal safety, the recognition of others' needs, campus appearance (etc...)" in the formulation of regulations.
However, at the time when the service is most needed, the UH shuttle bus service is often delinquent.
Instead of increasing its availability to students at night, the shuttle service is reduced to only one bus that tends to make a very slow circumference of the campus.
It is true that fewer students are around to ride at night, but that is the very reason this service should be stepped up, not cut.
Ensuring the safety of even one student is more important than saving a few of the Parking and Transportation Fee dollars that pay for the service.
The gray-box editorials reflect the opinion of The Daily Cougar editorial board and editorial staff. All other opinions, letters, commentaries and cartoons reflect the viewpoint of the writer. Letters to the editor reflect only the opinion of the individual writers. No opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston administration or the student body at large.