Feature Creature
Pitch:
Safe Ride is the campus wide shuttle service. It brings students to various parts of campus but it tends to be unreliable. It often does not run on time or at all. I want to write about the issues with this tool and what students think about it.
What is the best work study job on campus? There are a wide range of options for students to have as a job. Some jobs include working at the dining hall, information desks, campus center, the library, and more. I am curious as to what students think is the best job to have.
Early Draft (250-300 words)
University Transportation Leaves Students Stranded
The campus shuttle forces students to find alternative methods for getting around.
February, 2025
Jadyn Stevens
University Student
Kayla Barnes and Heather Xavier are just like many students who have no choice but to make the walk to the Harold Alfond Forum from the main portion of campus. Students often have to walk in rain, snow, or frigid temperatures.
The University of New England has a campus shuttle bus called Safe Ride that carries students to various locations around campus. This seems like a convenient tool for students, but it lacks a sense of reliability. Students have to resort to relying on themselves rather than the campus provided resource.
Sophomore English major Heather Xavier is a resident of Sokokis Hall. This dorm resides on the far side of campus which is at least ten minutes away from the main buildings. In warmer weather, the walk might not be bad. However, below freezing temperatures and slippery paths makes the journey treacherous. Students like Heather will wait for the bus to take them around campus. Except, sometimes Safe Ride never shows up. “Safe Ride is not consistent enough for students to use it as efficiently as they should be able to”, says Heather.
In order to find where Safe Ride is on their route, students can pull up the tracker to see where the bus is in real time. Although, the tracker is often inaccurate and does not show the correct location. Heather has experienced these technological issues, and shares that “the app is never fully accurate, leaving me waiting outside for a bus that was never coming”.
400-500 Word Draft:
University Transportation Leaves Students Stranded
The campus shuttle forces students to find alternative methods for getting around.
February, 2025
Jadyn Stevens
University Student
Kayla Barnes and Heather Xavier are just like many students who have no choice but to make the walk to the Harold Alfond Forum from the main portion of campus. Students often have to walk in rain, snow, or frigid temperatures.
The University of New England has a campus shuttle bus called Safe Ride that carries students to various locations around campus. This seems like a convenient tool for students, but it lacks a sense of reliability. Students have to resort to relying on themselves rather than the campus provided resource.
Sophomore English major Heather Xavier is a resident of Sokokis Hall. This dorm resides on the far side of campus which is at least ten minutes away from the main buildings. In warmer weather, the walk might not be bad. However, below freezing temperatures and slippery paths makes the journey treacherous. Students like Heather will wait for the bus to take them around campus. Except, sometimes Safe Ride never shows up. “Safe Ride is not consistent enough for students to use it as efficiently as they should be able to”, says Heather.
In order to find where Safe Ride is on their route, students can pull up the tracker to see where the bus is in real time. Although, the tracker is often inaccurate and does not show the correct location. Heather has experienced these technological issues, and shares that “the app is never fully accurate, leaving me waiting outside for a bus that was never coming”.
The hours of operation listed on the University of New England website are 3 pm to 11 pm. However, the shuttle often does not run during those times. Sophomore Pharmacy student Kayla Barnes deals with this problem. “I work at the forum but I have knee problems. I need Safe Ride to spare me the walk but it is never reliably running” she says. The hours that it runs varies on the day with no notice.
Students with disabilities struggle with the lack of dependability of Safe Ride. Those with chronic illness or injuries are left with not a lot of choices. They can walk or call security for a ride to wherever they are going. Rides from security are helpful but it comes with issues. There are limited members of the security team which means there might not be someone available. At least one security officer has to remain present in the security office, and others might be dealing with a situation at the moment. It leaves disabled students with the difficult decision of skipping their commitment or making the tough walk.
Workshop Draft
Safe ride: Is it really reliable?
Students find the campus shuttle to be an unreliable means of transportation.
February 18, 2025
Jadyn Stevens
University Student
In February 2025, students shared their opinions on the University of New England campus shuttle called Safe Ride.
Safe Ride carries students to various locations around campus. This seems like a convenient tool, but some students say it lacks a sense of reliability. Students claim they have to resort to relying on themselves rather than the campus provided resource. They are often left to walk in rain, snow, or frigid temperatures.
Sophomore English major Heather Xavier is a resident of Sokokis Hall. This dorm resides on the far side of campus which is at least ten minutes away from the main buildings. In warmer weather, the walk might not be bad. However, below freezing temperatures and slippery paths makes the journey treacherous. Students like Xavier will wait for the bus to take them around campus. Except, it is not always available.“Safe Ride is not consistent enough for students to use it as efficiently as they should be able to. Students just want to get around safely when the conditions are not good.” says Xavier.
In order to find where Safe Ride is on their route, students can pull up the tracker to see where the bus is in real time. Although, the tracker is often inaccurate and does not show the correct location. Heather has experienced these technological issues, and shares that “the app is never fully accurate, leaving me waiting outside for a bus that was never coming”.
The hours of operation listed on the University of New England website are 3 pm to 11 pm. However, the shuttle often does not appear to be running during those times. Sophomore Pharmacy student Kayla Barnes deals with this problem. “I work at the forum but I have knee problems. I need Safe Ride to spare me the walk but it is never reliably running. The hours say it should be running but the tracker says it is stationary at security” she says.
Barnes brings up the issue of how students with disabilities struggle with the lack of dependability of Safe Ride. “Those with chronic illness or injuries are left with not a lot of choices. They can walk or call security for a ride to wherever they are going”. Medical escorts from security are helpful, but are not available to all. Students need to have a visit with the health center and receive a note before they are eligible to get those escorts. Barnes explained how she has knee problems, but it is not classified as bad enough for that.
Security supervisor Linden Jackson shared some insights on the behind the scenes of Safe Ride. “The purpose is to provide the community with safe transportation through ten stops after business hours and to help people feel comfortable throughout campus” he says. Jackson wants students to remember that Safe Ride is run by humans so there will always be issues.
When asked about the reliability of the tracker, he responds “The tracker is a device plugged into the vehicle. As with all technology, there will be difficulties. However, it is mostly reliable”. Barnes had mentioned that a safe ride appears to be in security when it should be running. Jackson informs that “Drivers may forget the tracker or need to pull into the office for breaks. The drivers are human and may make mistakes, plus the shifts are too long to not stop for a bit”.
He goes on to share that all students can get a safety escort from security at all hours of the day. “If students feel unsafe walking at any time of day, they can always call to get a security escort. Our priority is making sure everyone feels safe and comfortable”.
There are two obvious sides to this situation. However, both parties agree that the main priority is all students feeling safe when getting around campus.
Workshop Reflection
My workshop experience was very positive. I found the comments from my peers to be very helpful and insightful. I received comments on the structural parts and how to improve it. The environment was very positive which allowed me to take in the comments to make my feature better. There were good ideas on the headline, subheadline, and the use of an anecdotal lede. My peers pointed out spelling or grammar issues that I might have missed. It is helpful to have additional sets of eyes on your work to catch mistakes. The next step in revision will be to interview someone who uses the Portland shuttle, a student driver, and research another college. I will add that in and also adjust the order of some of my paragraphs. I found this process to be very beneficial and my feature has improved because of it.
Final Draft
Concerns of campus shuttle’s reliability leaves students out in the cold
Students at UNE find the campus shuttle to be an unrealistic means of transportation.
February 28, 2025
Jadyn Stevens
University Student
Heather Xavier is a Sophomore English Major who is a resident of Sokokis Hall. This dorm resides on the far side of campus which is at least ten minutes away from the main buildings. In warmer weather, the walk might not be bad. However, below freezing temperatures and slippery paths makes the journey treacherous.
Safe Ride is the University of New England campus shuttle that takes students to various locations around campus. Students claim they have to resort to relying on themselves rather than the campus provided resource.
Students like Xavier will wait for the bus to take them around campus. Except, it is not always available.“Safe Ride is not consistent enough for students to use it as efficiently as they should be able to. Students just want to get around safely when the conditions are not good.” says Xavier.
In order to find where Safe Ride is on their route, students can pull up the tracker to see where the bus is in real time. Although, the tracker is often inaccurate and does not show the correct location. Xavier has experienced these technological issues, and shares that “the app is never fully accurate, leaving me waiting outside for a bus that was never coming”.
The hours of operation listed on the University of New England website are 3 p.m. to 11p.m. However, the shuttle often does not appear to be running during those times. Sophomore Pharmacy student Kayla Barnes deals with this problem.
“I work at the Forum but I have knee problems. I need Safe Ride but it is never reliably running. The hours say it should be running but the tracker says it is stationary at security” she says.
Barnes brings up the issue of how students with disabilities struggle with the lack of dependability of Safe Ride. “Those with chronic illness or injuries are left with not a lot of choices. They can walk or call security for a ride” she says.
Medical escorts from security are not available to all. Students need to have a visit with the health center and receive a note before they are eligible to get those escorts. Barnes explained how she has knee problems, but it is not classified as bad enough for that.
Security supervisor Linden Jackson oversees Safe Ride training and certifications. “The purpose is to provide the community with safe transportation through ten stops after business hours and to help people feel comfortable throughout campus” he says. Jackson wants students to remember that Safe Ride is run by humans so there will always be issues.
Students complain about the issues with the tracker. Jackson explains, “The tracker is a device plugged into the vehicle. As with all technology, there will be difficulties. However, it is mostly reliable”.
Barnes had mentioned that a safe ride appears to be in security when it should be running. Jackson informs that “Drivers may forget the tracker or need to pull into the office for breaks. The drivers are human and may make mistakes, plus the shifts are too long to not stop for a bit”.
Jackson says, “If students feel unsafe walking at any time of day, they can always call to get a security escort. Our priority is making sure everyone feels safe and comfortable”.
Sophomore Environmental Science Major, Jacob Osmer is a student driver for Safe Ride. “I think it’s a good resource for students”.
Osmer feels that, “It’s a really good job for students to have, although driving around gets repetitive sometimes”.
UNE has another shuttle that takes students from the Bishop Street Parking Lot to the Portland Campus. The bus is on a ten minute schedule stopping at the parking lot and main campus.
Junior Dental Hygiene Major, Olivia Campbell uses this shuttle daily. “ It is very reliable and is always running from 7 a.m. -7 p.m.”. Campbell has never had any issues with it.
Colby College in Waterville Maine has a shuttle that stops around campus. The hours of operation include 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on school days, and 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. It is available for longer than Safe Ride, but with not as many stops.
There are two obvious sides to this situation. However, both parties agree that the main priority is all students feeling safe when getting around campus.
Reflection
The feature creature project has been a unique experience for me. I am not used to writing in a journalistic style. It took some time to get my head out of academic writing and ignore some of the writing principles that I have used for so long. A feature contains different structural elements of writing that I am not used to. I had never had to create a headline, subheadline, lede, or nut graph. I also had never interviewed people for the purpose of writing about it. The starting process included coming up with a pitch. I struggled a bit with coming up with ideas. I decided to go with Safe Ride because I thought there would be lots of avenues for interviews and information. Once my pitch was approved, I jumped right into interviewing. I interviewed two students, a security supervisor, a student driver, and a student who uses the Portland shuttle. Only the student interviews and security supervisor interviews happened before revision. One of the hardest parts of the process was deciding where to start. I had collected valuable quotes but I struggled to decide how to incorporate them. I used the interviews to form my original drafts that I brought to the workshop. My goal for the workshop draft was to get my ideas out on the page. I could not come up with a good headline or subheadline. I decided to put a generic one down and use the workshop to help come up with ideas. I received other comments about reordering paragraphs, spelling, grammar, interview suggestions, and more. I took notes during the workshop and used those notes to guide my revision. I had the bare bones for the workshop draft, and left with more developed ideas. I am very thankful for that step because it made the final product process easier. My breakthrough moment was after I included the interview about the Portland campus. That is when I felt like my feature had shaped up to what I wanted it to be like. There were plenty of suggestions that I used to help shape my feature into the final draft. Overall, this was a very interesting project! It was fun to play the role of a journalist. It was cool to get a taste of what the journalistic process is actually like.
