In order to avoid harm, people must know the potential dangers facing them. Educating people on these dangers is the purpose of Trinity’s participation in National Campus Safety Awareness Month, in which hundreds of campuses participate.
Campus safety carries a broad definition and includes sexual assault, drugs, alcohol, theft and many other potentially dangerous campus situations.
The Trinity University Police Department (TUPD) has been running weekly events for the month and educating students on ways to stay safe on campus. For example, they provided a bike registration night for students to register their bikes for tracking in the event of a theft. According to TUPD, three bike thieves were caught last semester thanks to the registration program. Officer Pete Morales spoke on the overall importance of this month.
“We’ll do one event a week, and within these weeks we’ll have a ton of information on alcohol, drugs, sexual assault and everything that can possibly affect a student on campus, and we have actual resources for students, because campus safety is everything from a fire to an active shooter and more,” Morales said.
The overarching theme of the month is to educate students on the best ways to help themselves in potentially dangerous situations. Senior Rivers Wallace applauds the efforts of TUPD to keep students safe.
“I do think being informed is at least a part of the battle. It aims to help with prevention so it at the very least doesn’t hurt. I learned some new things that I plan to use, so I’m happy with the events,” Wallace said.
Students were not only informed of the dangers but also learned ways to stay up-to-date with TUPD and continue their safety education. First year Madeleine Doughty commented on what she learned from the events about TUPD’s general safety efforts.
“I’m not sure I had even thought of the fact that they would have a page on the website. When I did, I went there and they have all sorts of information and informative videos for the students to use. It was actually really helpful,” Doughty said.
The final event concluded on Thursday, Sept. 25, and included speakers from the San Antonio Fire Department, the San Antonio Police Department, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Rape Crisis Center.
Students were encouraged to learn about the potential harm they could face on campus and to carry that knowledge into life after college as well. These included simulations with drunk goggles and training on how to properly use a fire extinguisher.
