Though many student senators were running around campaigning today on campus, not one was running in the UF Naval-ROTC event to promote the Safe Run program.
Safe Run is a collaboration of Student Government and UF NROTC to provide students with a safe way of running on campus at night by pairing them with NROTC volunteers.
During today's event, NROTC volunteers were supposed to run with partners, specifically senators, at 2:30 p.m. on campus to raise awareness about the program, which has had low interest this semester, according to Michael Del Favero, the program's president.
"Anyone could have signed up, but the focus was supposed to be senators," said Sen. Samantha Sexton, the Student Senate Safe Run liaison who helped spearhead the program during the summer as a member of the Student Safety Committee.
Sexton made an announcement at Tuesday's Senate meeting about the event, and Student Senate President Jordan Johnson encouraged senators to attend.
However, only the NROTC volunteers made it panting and sweating to the finish line on the North Lawn of the Reitz Union where a Safe Run table was set up with chips and Gatorade for runners.
Sexton attributed the lack of senator participation to Student Government campaigning, which was rampant on campus today.
UF freshman Chris Baughman and advertising senior Kyle Cotton were the first to jog to the NROTC table after completing a two-mile run around campus.
Cotton, who has been a volunteer runner since the program began, said the average person he is paired with will run two miles.
Del Favero said the program pairs runners with volunteers who have the same running abilities.
"I'm one of the fast people," he said. "If there's a seven-mile person, they'll call me."
As more volunteers reached the finish line, the group of about 15 NROTC members handed out fliers. They spoke with students walking by about the program, which is available Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students simply have to call an hour before they want to run and meet a volunteer at one of eight locations on campus.
Kamia Morris, UF family, youth and community sciences junior, was surprised to learn that the program is free, and said she'd definitely try it out.
"Maybe this will motivate me not to use 'it's dark' as an excuse,"Morris said.
To contact the NROTC Safe Run program and set up a run with a volunteer, call 352-392-0973.
