HUCEP escorts will also be handing out fliers advertising the hotline number to people who use the service, according to Crachilov.
McLoughlin said the College is considering adjusting HUCEP’s hours of operation to coincide with early sunsets during the winter months. The program currently operates from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Of the nine indecent assaults in the Harvard Square area since October, three occurred before 7 p.m.
“We’re considering using a sliding schedule throughout the academic year and moving the service towards the dusk hours in the winter but then moving it back when the days get longer and it’s not dark so early,” McLoughlin said.
Even if the hours of operation are shifted, students will still have to wait for escorts—a delay that some say is a deterrent from using the program.
“I think it’s a great program, but I won’t use it because I don’t have time to wait around for someone to walk me home,” said Allison C. Smith ’06.
Since its founding last month, HUCEP has hired and trained undergraduate and graduate students to be escorts.
Escorts are paid $10.25 an hour and were required to attend a two-hour training session led by HUPD officers.