If you believe UGA students deserve better, please forward this message and share our petition today.

Parents, Students, Athenians, and All Who Care About Safety — Thank You!

First, thank you. Thank you for signing our petition and for standing with us to honor Laken Riley and all of our student Angels, and for demanding real change for safety and security at UGA and across our community. Your support sends a clear message: we will not forget them, and we will continue to push for meaningful improvements.

Today, on Angel Family Day, we pause to honor and remember all students and community members we have tragically lost or who have been victimized due to gaps in safety — especially:

Laken Riley, murdered on a UGA campus trail in broad daylight
Knox Whiten, killed in a hit-and-run while walking home
Ariana Zarse, killed in a downtown crosswalk outside her apartment
Katelyn Brooks, a UGA law student whose safety was violated on campus

We will never forget them. They are our inspiration, and they fuel our continued advocacy for stronger campus and community safety. You can read their accounts on our website.

Over the past five years, our campus community has witnessed:

• Students held up at gunpoint, viscously attacked, and sexually assaulted
• Peeping Toms and violations of privacy inside student residences
• Students panicked after finding strangers in their apartments
• Homeless individuals sleeping in the UGA library and showering in dorms
• Students being accosted for money, including inside establishments
• Open drug use on buses and in public spaces
• Homeless individuals defecating on downtown streets
• Mentally ill individuals jumping on cars in the street
• Social worker nearly killed on campus
• Multiple deceased individuals found in public spaces — including the river, a downtown portable restroom, and the green space across from The Lark student apartments
• Students killed in preventable tragedies, including hit-and-run and crosswalk fatalities
• The murder of Laken Riley on a UGA campus trail during a morning run

These are not isolated incidents. They are documented, and in many cases repeated, events affecting students, parents, and every member of the campus community.

Safety is for everyone. But leadership that talks about safety is not enough. We need leaders who implement real changes, as outlined in our articles and in this petition.

Today, gaps in security remain — and our students and community remain at risk. To date, we still have not received a response from UGA President, Jere Morehead or UGA Associate Vice President for Safety, Dr. Dan Silk regarding these ongoing safety concerns.

We will continue to advocate, speak up, and demand action.

You can help amplify this effort. Please share this petition — Change.org/safedathens — with friends, family, and anyone who cares about student and community safety.

For Laken. For Knox. For Ariana. For Katelyn. For all students. For UGA. For Athens.

With gratitude,

SafeD Athens and UGA Parents for Safety and Security