October 4, 2011

By Molly Duffy

In celebration of more than 100,000 safe rides home over 10 years, STRIPES will be sharing some of its own birthday cake with students Tuesday.

STRIPES Director Jeri Pautler said the student-run safe ride home program has made its mark at MU over its lifetime.

“At first, the university was kind of skeptical on whether we’d stay around or not,” she said. “The milestone of 10 years has kind of (said), ‘We’re here to stay. We’re not going anywhere.'”

Jesse Hall’s dome will be lit in gold and cake will be given out beginning at 11:45 a.m. in the MU Student Center in honor of STRIPES’ birthday. The dome will remain lit all week.

The MU Bookstore will be lit orange all day Tuesday, according to the event’s [Facebook page](http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=277454722279629).

“If someone’s wearing orange, or something STRIPES related, they’ll get a free piece of cake,” Pautler said.

Kelly Regan, STRIPES assistant director of external operations, said STRIPES has provided students with a vital service.

“Even if it’s not drinking and driving, it’s good to know that everyone’s getting a safe ride home,” she said. “They don’t have to walk in the dark or be stuck somewhere they don’t want to be stuck.”

STRIPES spokesman Andrew Worrall said STRIPES gives 800 to 1,000 rides home in a typical weekend.

Because patrons only need one MU student per ride, some riders don’t attend MU. This provides an outside perspective on the service, Pautler said.

“Everyone has great things to say about STRIPES, how they wish they had this at their school and how cool it is,” she said.

Since its beginning, the service has changed to fit students’ needs, Worrall said.

“We started off running just a couple cars, and now we’re running up to 12 cars,” he said. “The more cars that we can run, the more people we can get home.”

Pautler said as ridership grew, STRIPES adapted. Adding more cars, lowering the age requirement for drivers and instituting a more in-depth application process are all changes that came about in recent years.

“We lowered the driving age to 19 in 2009, and that was a huge step for us because now we can run more cars, essentially,” she said. “Before, (drivers) had to be 21.”

STRIPES also has a larger membership base, Pautler said.

“There have been lots of changes,” she said. “We’re always changing.”

To volunteer for STRIPES, students must earn membership, Pautler said. There is an application and an interview process.

Applications for the spring semester become available Oct. 31 and will be open for three to four weeks, Pautler said.

“We love what we do,” she said. “It’s definitely had a positive effect on the community and on the student body as a whole.”

Worrall said the program remains an important service at MU.

“Even if we only took one person home every year, I think that would be a worthwhile use of student money,” he said. “You can’t really put a price on a student’s life.”