There will be an influx of Miami University Police Department (MUPD) officers around campus next week-not to patrol for illegal activity, but to help spread the word about safety.
Campus Safety Awareness Week, Oct. 15-18, will have representatives from various organizations-including HAWKS Peer Health Educators, MUPD, athletic representatives, Greek Life representatives, Women's Center representatives and Miami faculty-to help pass out information and talk with students. The event will be located in the one-way street between Shideler and Culler halls, across from the Shriver Center. President David Hodge will also be on the scene to talk with students about this campus issue.
Lindsey Miller, health services awareness manager and HAWKS Peer Health educator, believes next week will be a success.
"This will not simply be another table passing out information," she said. "This will be about community involvement. We hope to draw attention, spark discussions and boost awareness to foster change. This will be an opportunity for representatives from all over campus to interact with students on campus and discover their ideas, thoughts and concerns."
There have been other campus safety programs in the past; however, this is the debut for Campus Safety Awareness Week. Miller, along with MUPD Lt. Stephen Van Winkle and board of trustees student member, Kerry McCormack, developed this program to spread awareness on campus.
Miller says they did not organize this event because of this year's crimes on campus, but because campus safety is an ongoing issue. The coalition is encouraging the entire campus community to engage in safe behavior.
Monday and Tuesday are "Get Carded" days, and officers of the K-9, mounted police and bike units, along with other representatives, will be on hand around Shideler and Culler halls to help pass out phone number cards, sexual assault prevention cards, key chain cards with phone numbers to local and campus authorities (the size of a Kroger Plus card), key chain whistles and hot chocolate on behalf of health services.
"(I'll be) out around campus all week talking to students and making sure they're knowledgeable about campus safety tips," Van Winkle said.
Campus Safety Awareness Week representatives will also have laptops set up Monday and Tuesday to help students register for Miami's emergency text messaging system, the e2Campus emergency notification service.
The e2Campus system sends a cell phone text message and e-mail notification to students for situations that would pose immediate danger or the closing of an entire campus.
In addition, Van Winkle said MUPD and Oxford Police Department officers will be walking around residence halls and
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off-campus housing next week to check for locked doors and dispense either a "Smarties" or "Dum Dum" candy door hanger with safety tips. Since theft has been a major issue on campus this year, the MUPD and OPD said they are making sure students lock their doors.
Miller and McCormack hope that the first Campus Safety Awareness Week will help empower students. They, along with Van Winkle, are developing a coalition to make this a year-long and annual campaign.
Sophomore Aimee James said students could never be too safe on campus.
"I feel safe on Miami's campus but that's because I'm always aware of my surroundings," she said. "I try not to put myself in compromising situations, like walking alone late at night. I think everyone, females especially, should be aware of his or her environment and always be smart. It's good to hear that Miami University is taking an initiative on educating students on how to better protect themselves."
Senior Madeleine Wisecup agreed, saying that many students have the misconception that because Oxford is so small, people don't worry about safety.
"I definitely don't feel threatened here but you don't know everyone you live around," she said. "Some of these crime alerts are by people who aren't even from Oxford. You never know what's going to happen and we need to be smart about it."
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