I would like to extend my gratitude to the Government of Guyana for putting up street lights to brighten our University of Guyana Tain Berbice Campus (UGBC) area. I believe this accomplishment is another step forward towards our country’s success and these lights have brightened our spirits in attending UG late evening classes that we usually dread to wait for until they’re over in the dark. During the cold, lonely evenings in front of the campus underneath the bus shed, we no longer have to be afraid of the dark shadowed nights with “drunkies and weirdos” and lunatics passing by, because we can clearly identify them. The street lights have illuminated the area with their golden beams and we can now see our fellow students, people passing by and drivers in vehicles vividly who want us to travel with them. Public transportation like minibuses are really hard to get in the late evenings just after seven o’ clock so I am encouraging drivers to stay out more late on the road for us or if the government can give UGBC a bus service to take us home late at nights.
Even though we have street lights it is very spooky in front of campus during the nights and do hope the police can do patrols for our safety, because we have only a few female security guards that take care of the campus and not what happens on the road.  I remember an article in the Chronicle which stated that only particular areas up the Corentyne will be facilitated with street lights, but I am glad that our UCCCI (Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and Industry) president wrote a letter to the government of Guyana that other main parts of the Corentyne need to be lit up as well and he got a quick response from the government that there will be lights located now throughout Berbice in the near future. This is a heart-warming response to receive. To make sure that these posts are lit most nights we have to now rely on GPL (Guyana Power and Light) to give out good quality and quantity service towards the grand public.
Street lights have to be placed on main areas like the 63 beach entrance road so people can identify any illegal or wrong doings of lunatics that visit the beach during the nights and report the matter so that something can be done to stop them. It is sad to say that Suriname is illuminated with beautiful border lights exuding a marvellous atmosphere and people there are enjoying electricity 24 hours 7 days a week i.e. everyday non-stop. I do hope we can meet these expectations in the near future of having electricity throughout the country non-stop like simple neighbouring country Suriname and also since we are popularly known for our prestigious 63 beach we should not just use the beach as a showcase but tend it with care and embrace it. Its significant value with spectacular border lights that show we exist too and they could be useful to patrolling police officers.
There are some issues that UG students and members of the public are still not pleased with. Drivers late in the evening when classes are over still drive with their brightest lights that blind us. Isn’t this a very ignorant thing to do? You have street lights now so stop blinding the public. Overseas has a dim light usage system enforced through the police and I do hope this reaches our system soon. If you travel with too bright lights you can cause accidents and will have to pay penalties as in fines and consequences as in someone’s death.
1. Drivers driving taxis and minibuses and even some people who own their own vehicles surprise me a lot. How? Why is it that University of Guyana is a school, and it has a pedestrian walk painted on the tarred road and everyone seems to be speeding there and want to knock down and kill students instead of giving them a chance to cross the road? Did these people “buy” their licences and did not read their drivers’ books which say to slow then stop at a pedestrian crossing? I believe this matter can be resolved by the police putting up a slow sign and a stop sign in front UG.
2. The last but not least issue would be a major one that needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. for the betterment of UGBC and that is making UGBC area a Quiet Zone. In order to do so our sociology lecturer Mr. Andrew Hicks came up with the idea of drawing the attention of the police to the noise nuisance in the area with people driving in and out of the street adjacent to the University playing loud music in their vehicles interrupting us when we are writing an exam, listening to an important lecture or ongoing seminar.
I do hope the police can make UGBC Tain area a quiet zone by erecting signs along the roadside and around the campus in the streets to notify the vehicles to stop playing loud music, the houses in Tain to stop deafening our classes and people in the area and to stop cursing and abusing each other verbally while we are attending a lecture.
I do hope the police can solve these matters urgently, if not, it looks like myself along with others of the UGBC student government will have to go to the police ourselves or take  steps toward the various channels of government to solve these ongoing issues and make learning, students and UGBC better all the way.