Each year the commanders of the Air Force R.O.T.C. program at Auburn University create projects that freshmen members oversee. These projects give the students a chance to step up and prove their leadership skills to their superiors.

This year two freshmen, Cadet Kevin Long and Cadet Luke Wilkinson, are in charge of a project that will allow Auburn students to run safely at night. The project is called “Auburn University Safe Run.”

“AU Safe Run” allows students who exercise at night feel safe while running in the company of Air Force R.O.T.C. Cadets. The service is free of charge and is available to any Auburn student interested.

Jessica Van Rassen, a junior at Auburn and a cadet captain in the Air Force R.O.T.C., is assisting Cadet Long and Cadet Wilkinson to get the program off of the ground.

“Many people do not feel safe while running at night by themselves,” said Van Rassen “The goal is for people to come run with the boys so they are safe and don’t have to worry about something happening.”

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According to Van Rassen, five people showed up, all females, for the cadets first run on Nov. 1st. Since then the group has grown and their goal is for it continue to grow.

“We are still trying to network with the Auburn students and get the word out there that this program is available,” said Van Rassen.

The cadets will run at any pace and any distance that is reasonable. There are set times that the cadets have scheduled to run. However, if these times conflict with a student’s schedule they are willing to plan a separate time to run, hoping to insure that all students are safe.

“There are guidelines set by the Air Force R.O.T.C. project that the cadets have to follow,” explained Van Rassen. “They are willing to work with the students but if the request is too extreme, as in distance or time wise, we will have to turn the student down. Safety is our number one priority.”

Cadet Long and Cadet Wilkinson have created a Facebook page where more information is provided about “AU Safe Run.” This is where the prescheduled run times are posted. Their phone numbers are also available on this page to call and schedule a run if the scheduled times are conflicting.

The prescheduled runs are on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday night at 8 p.m. To attend the “AU Safe Run” students should meet outside of the Nichols Center in the grass area.