For the first time since the service opened in 1990, Ohio University's Campus Escort Service will run 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. during finals week.

Mark Mathews, assistant director of the OU Police Department, said Campus Escort closed during previous finals weeks because he wanted to let escorts study for their tests.

"It was just a fact that it was finals week, and our employees are students," he said.

Student requests for finals week escort service played a part in the decision, but the change came mostly because escorts decided they wanted to provide service for students who are out studying late, Mathews said.

Escorts will work on a volunteer basis and will not be penalized if they do not work.

"It was more of the escorts' idea" he said. "If no one would have signed up for it, we wouldn't have had it."

Senior Julie Andolek, an escort, said she is glad the service will be available, because otherwise students will be walking home from Alden Library late at night.

"Walking home at midnight isn't the safest thing," she said.

Several escorts are fitting extra hours into their schedules so students can get home safely.

Senior Julia Kolber, another escort, signed up to work because she has a light exam load this quarter. However, she said she wishes the service had been available during previous finals weeks.

"It's not bothering us; it's only helping people," she said. "I wish it was (running) when I was there."

Because only one escort team will work instead of the usual two teams, students might have to wait longer than usual, Kolber said.

Other escorts are working after exams. Junior Stacey Pennock will work later in the week because her last final is Wednesday, but she has to stay in Athens until Friday.

Pennock said she doesn't know whether escorts are needed during finals week, and she is waiting to see whether the service is necessary.

"It always seemed to me like people studied in their dorm rooms and lobbies," she said.

Early next quarter, Mathews will analyze escort use during finals week and decide whether the service was useful. However, he said, he plans for volunteer service during finals week to become a permanent service.