FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas students, faculty and staff who don’t want to walk across campus by themselves after dark have an alternative. Sunday through Thursday, from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., they can call to request a student escort from the Razorback Patrol. The University of Arkansas Police Department screens, supervises and dispatches the student escorts, and the program is popular on campus. So popular, in fact, that UAPD has been forced to make a change.

“People have always called our main number to request an escort,” said Lt. Gary Crain, public information officer for University Police. “This semester the program has been so successful and we’ve been getting so many requests that it’s tying up our direct line, making it hard for other callers with other needs to get through. So we are now providing Razorback Patrol with its own phone line, to improve service for everyone.”

The new number is 575-5000. Callers will be connected directly to a Razorback Patrol dispatcher to request and schedule an escort. The new phone number is effective immediately.