Student Government has put together a group of students to keep LSU safe at night, and there is growing turnout and concern for the cause.

The Campus Affairs and Sustainability Committee, along with Facility Services, assembled about 27 students and a few Facility Service staff members to find burned out lights and make the old lights more sustainable, according to committee chair and environmental science junior Morgan Taylor.

LSU Utility Services Associate Director Jim Mayne said the group surveyed the LSU area looking for burned-out streetlights, floodlights and security lights, as well as those covered by tree branches or other growth.

Mayne said the student turnout was the most ever, with about 30 students, with the average for the past few years being two or three.

There are approximately 2,000 lights on campus, according to Mayne, and this lighting survey usually reveals that between 2 and 3 percent of the lights are not functional.

Taylor said this is one of the many things that SG does that is not seen but is beneficial to the LSU community.

“Students have told me they feel safer,” Taylor said. “Plus, lights are whiter and more sustainable, what we do allows [Facility Services] to have the manpower to do this stuff.”

Mayne said students should call work control in Facility Services if they see a light on campus not working.

LSU Police Department Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said students should try to park in the well-lit areas on campus and to avoid the dark shortcuts in an attempt to stay safe.

“There are no statistics to back it up, but it is a common sense measure,” Lalonde said. “That and making sure to not to travel alone at night.”