When word got around that the night shuttle may be coming to an end, many students became concerned.

The night shuttle is a must-have service offered by the university. It gives students a piece of mind knowing they don’t have to walk across campus in the middle of the night.

Walking around at night can be sketchy, especially with inadequate lighting around campus. Also, with a lack of visible security, students are inclined to want a service such as the night shuttle.

Recent crimes on campus (armed robbery, murder, stabbing) justly call for students to speak up and tell administration what they want.

With pick-up spots in four different locations around campus, the shuttle keeps the safety level of campus up. It also helps the image of VSU to let current and prospective students know that the campus is safe 24/7.

After hearing concerns from students, the housing department said it was not going to end the night shuttle operations.

Dr. Tom Hardy, director of housing and residence life, does not know where the rumors came from but was very adamant in letting people know that the service was not going to end.

“It almost sounds like an old telephone game,” Hardy said. “This one said this, and this one said that. The shuttle service is continuing in operation like it always has for the rest of the semester; nothing’s changing in regards to that.”

Hardy cited safety as the main reason for keeping the night shuttle operating.

“Someone at this university has always had to run night operations so people can stay safe,” Hardy said. “That’s the most important thing in the world.”

The initial rumor was that the shuttle was going to halt operations because, according to a graduate assistant of the night operations team, the university didn’t want to pay for the health care of night operations employees.

“(Arian Bryant) told us that due to the new ‘Obamacare,’ if an employee works over 19 hours, (the school) has to pay for our health insurance, and VSU can’t afford that,” Joe Rigsby, junior night operations employee, said.

If VSU ever considers getting rid of the night shuttle, they need to hire more than three security guards to ensure that students get to their destination safely.

With the number of people that benefit from the shuttle every week, it is smart for VSU to keep it in operation.

Rigsby said the service transports around 800 students a week; The service is obviously not going unnoticed.

We here at the Spectator are strongly against the night shuttle going away. It is a big part of campus safety, and VSU needs to keep it around.