RamRide offers safe, free ride home to 462
In an attempt to make the streets of Fort Collins safer, the
Associated Students of CSU launched their new RamRide program
Friday night, with the support of CSU President Larry Penley and
Rep. Mark Udall.
This weekend, 462 students called RamRide to be driven home
safely from bars, parties and restaurants.
Designed to give students a safe, nonjudgmental ride home for
free, RamRide will be available on Friday and Saturday nights
between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. The program will be run by trained
student volunteers who answer phone calls and pick up students who
are too drunk to drive home.
“We’re trying to do a culture shift where we’re really promoting
that people don’t drink and drive or choose an unsafe avenue when
they could have a safe one,” said ASCSU President Jesse
Lauchner.
Students can call 491-3333 to be connected with a volunteer who
will dispatch one of the 10 vehicles used each night to drive
students home. The volunteers will consist of a male and female
navigator and a driver.
“The willingness and support shows that people are looking out
for their fellow students,” said Kevin McCartin, a junior
environmental health major and volunteer for RamRide. “A program
like this shows that people care for their fellow students and are
willing to give up their time.”
CSU President Larry Penley addressed a crowd of students outside
the Lory Student Center on Friday acknowledging the work that was
put into the program.
“The kinds of entrepreneurship represented by the program, and
the pragmatism that you can see in its execution, are all comments
about the quality of our students at CSU,” Penley said.
“Recognizing the health and safety of your fellow students as an
issue for which you have responsibility is a real positive
statement for all of you.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall also spoke of RamRide’s merits.
“It has to benefit the community; if you prevent one accident
from occurring or prevent one young woman who is walking home late
from being assaulted, that’s benefiting the community,” Udall said.
“I think psychologically, just knowing that (RamRide) is in place
adds value and makes this community more secure and therefore more
healthy.”
During the ASCSU elections last spring, RamRide was a major
platform for Lauchner and Vice President Katie Clausen, who noticed
that students considered drinking and driving a major problem on
campus.
“It was in response to one of the most pertinent needs on
campus, which is keeping students safe by keeping them off the road
and out of drinking and driving situations,” Lauchner said.
Leslie Jones, a sophomore anthropology major, was relieved to
hear that ASCSU has started a program to reduce the number of drunk
drivers on the streets at night.
“It’s a great idea, it scares me to be out at two or three in
the morning around campus because of all the drunk drivers,” she
said.
Lauchner and Clausen modeled RamRide after a similar program at
Texas A&M. Its carpool program has been used since 1999 and has
provided more than 41,881 rides to its students. The positive
effect carpool had on the students and community at Texas A&M
appealed to Lauchner and Clausen, who decided to implement a
similar program at CSU.
RamRide is operated through ASCSU and funded by outside
donations. Sprint PCS and Enterprise Rent-A-Car will provide the
phones and vehicles used in the program.
Ben Goldstein, director of Student Services, the extension of
ASCSU in charge of RamRide, stressed that even though the program
is heavily focused on intoxicated students who need a sober ride,
it is also available to students who may need a ride home for other
reasons, such as leaving an uncomfortable situation.
“We are a completely nonjudgmental program. We really encourage
everyone to use the program if they feel they need it, whether they
are intoxicated or not,” Goldstein said.
Students who are interested in a safe ride home can call (970)
491-3333, or #RIDE on a Sprint PCS phone.
Interested in volunteering?
ASCSU is still accepting applications for volunteers at RamRide.
To get involved, either stop by the ASCSU office in the Lory
Student Center or find out about the program online at
ascsu.colostate.edu.
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