On his last shift, Brady Blevins tackled a crossword puzzle. He read a play for his theater class and sat around as the time passed.

The Kansas University student would have worked, if someone needed him. But for the two hours he was on duty, no one came.

“I didn’t get a walk all night,” said Blevins, a volunteer for Jaywalk, a KU service that escorts students at night.

Three years after violent assaults on KU students prompted the launch of a student escort service, the program is struggling. The problem: Few people ask for help.

The student-run service served 58 students in the 2004-05 academic year. In the fall semester, volunteers walked about 30 students.

The lack of participation has attracted critics and spurred some to consider dumping the service. The University Daily Kansan, KU’s student newspaper, has called Jaywalk impractical and doomed.

“If we didn’t have this program, people would want a program,” said Emily Bannwarth, Jaywalk’s business manager. “That’s the thing. When we have it, they don’t use it. But if we didn’t have it, I know there’d be lots of complaints about not having anything.”

The program was partly a response to several crimes. In 2003, a KU student told police a man wearing a ski mask held her at knifepoint in a Lied Center parking lot until she was able to pull away.

The incident came just weeks after reports of a sexual assault on a KU student walking near downtown.

The incidents were an aberration, KU Public Safety Capt. Mark Witt said. In 2003 and 2004, the office logged 85 assaults, four sex offenses and five rapes. But the office’s online reports do not indicate where the crimes occurred. Witt said armed attacks on campus were very rare.

Blevins, who volunteers for the late shift, may spend his time doing homework or talking with a friend.

“If we’re lucky, we have maybe one walk a night,” he said. And on busy nights, the volunteers may walk two students, he said.

“I think everyone feels like safety is a nonissue right now,” Blevins said. “I think that’s because we have so many safety programs in place. … It’s when you lack those programs and see the results to the lack of those programs that safety becomes an issue.”

Kristen Abell, program coordinator for Sexual Violence Education and Support Services at KU, said Jaywalk competes with other services, such as SafeRide, a free taxi service. And, Abell said, there isn’t a heightened sense of awareness on campus.

• 6News video: KU’s Jaywalk program lacking participants
• Volunteers escort students through campus late at night (08-14-04)
• KUinfo: What is the JayWalk service?

Students “have a sense of safety,” she said. “They should, but things can still happen.”

Bannwarth admitted that she’s had thoughts of giving up. But, she said, even if the program helps just one person, it will be worth it.

Jaywalk, which operates with a $12,500 annual budget, plans to pump more energy and money into promoting itself across campus.

The program is an easy target for criticism, student body president Nick Sterner said. But with such a relatively small budget, it’s worth it to find ways to improve the service and keep it going.