Students and staff members gathered Wednesday to participate in Safety Walk 2011, an annual walk that gives participants a chance to point out safety concerns around campus.

The walkers split up into four groups to cover different areas of campus. The areas were designated by colors.

Each group was led by representatives from the Missouri Students Association, the Residence Halls Association and the National Residence Hall Honorary.

Lisa Sauter, RHA legislative secretary and MU’s NRHH chapter’s “Of the Month” award coordinator, led a group around an area that stretched from Schurz Hall to Johnston Hall. It was her first time participating in Safety Walk.

“I know there are some areas of campus I do not think are safe,” Sauter said. “I’ve never had an outlet to identify those (concerns), so Safety Walk is great for that.”

Sauter is also a leadership adviser in Lathrop Hall. She said Safety Walk gave her an opportunity to see a different part of campus than she normally sees.

This year, NRHH participated in Safety Walk for the first time. NRHH president Eric Hucker is working to get the group more involved on campus.

“NRHH is all about honoring greatness in the residence halls,” Hucker said. “Looking at the residence halls and making sure they’re safe for our students is definitely in line with the goals of our organization.”

This was Hucker’s first Safety Walk.

“I think it’s a great experience,” he said. “The more people that get involved with safety on campus, the better. It’s important that students be proactive in their own safety and this is a good opportunity to do that.”

In addition to students, staff and faculty members, officers from the MU Police Department also participated in Safety Walk.

MUPD officer Scott Richardson has been participating in Safety Walk for four years.

“We like to participate and help out,” he said. “There are usually questions that are asked during Safety Walk that we can answer.”

Sauter said one of the highlights of the experience is working with different organizations.

“You get a lot of different student leaders coming together to work on safety,” she said. “I think that’s something really great about our university.”

NRHH Vice President Sean Joy agreed with Sauter’s sentiment.

“Everything is working together to make our university cohesive, in the sense of safety,” Joy said.

Throughout the night, groups walked around campus, focusing on anything they considered unsafe. Sauter and Hucker’s group focused on poorly lit areas around Schurz and Hatch residence halls.

Some Safety Walk participants had their own safety concerns. Joy was concerned about poorly lit areas around Memorial Union.

“There’s not a lot of lighting and students should not go through that area alone,” he said.

Joy said Safety Walk was a positive thing for MU.

“It’s giving awareness and giving (students) the tools to then go and talk to their peers,” he said.