By Victoria Garcia Avila | Photo by Christopher Herrera |
Over a month after a junior was hit by a car crossing Walzem, campus and law enforcement officials are still making changes to try to keep Riders safe. The newly installed fence around the perimeter of the campus is just the most recent and visible of several steps administration is taking to focus on safety.
“First off we have a closed campus,” Principal Melvin Echard said. “If any students are not at school 8:45-4:05 p.m. that’s a curfew violation for not being in school.”
Both Windcrest police and San Antonio police are working with the school to bring students back who are violating curfew. Offenders receive citations and on campus consequences.
“When they see students off campus, and they will bring the students back to campus, and students will get overnight suspension and a parent phone call,” Echard said.
It’s not just when students cross the street that puts them in danger though, it is also where they cross. Local law enforcement groups have been helping students with that as well.
“If police officers if they see any students jaywalking or not using the cross walk they are being [cited],” NEISD police officer Carlos Torres said.
The tickets people receive for failing to cross at the crosswalk are real, with penalties up to $2oo.
“We’re seeing an increase in traffic citations issued for failing to cross the street at an appropriately labeled crosswalk,” Echard said.
That was one of the reasons behind the fence currently being installed around campus.
“I think it will help many students to us the cross walk,” Echard said. “I think about the important boundaries at Roosevelt High school. Walzem is popular with businesses, so there is much traffic around the Roosevelt campus.”
The fence will help define the Roosevelt boundary so that people also don’t walk on the campus without following check-in procedures. It directs traffic on and off campus at certain locations.
“ I also think people should not just use any short cut,” Echard said. “I’m not just talking about Roosevelt students, but we all should use the side walk and the cross walk.”
English Dean Heather Farmer has seen it for years. The Roosevelt alum has been teaching here for 28 years, and said she sees many people taking shortcuts – not just students. In her time, while the surroundings have changed, Roosevelt has never been an open campus.
“When I was going here there weren’t many fast food restaurants,” Farmer said. “Fast food [venues] developed and students started eating there.”
While she said the fence might scare some from leaving, Farmer said it’s an important time for faculty to have a discussion with their students about safety.
Some students are unsure about the new fence. But others realize that it will force students to use the crosswalks.
“Yes [it does help them use the crosswalks],” freshman Melissa Reyes said. “Now they have to go around.”
“It’s safer for them,” senior Ernesto Lopez said.
Administrators and counselors are on duty at lunches monitoring the gates. In the future the gates will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and all traffic will need to come through the gates on Ray Bon. Messages have gone out to families about the citations for jaywalking and will go out about the gates in the future.
“We need to continue emphasizing safety to all our TR family,” Echard said.
