On the evening of Oct. 20, staff and students at Pacific University walked around the entire campus with CPS and other safety officials to identify dangerous areas and determine future steps to improve overall campus safety.
Cindy Schuppert, director of facilities management and campus public safety, hosted the event, inviting emergency manager Amy Rasmussen, the two electricians on campus, three CPS officers, and three students. During the walk, the group worked together to figure out what the options were for better lighting and bring awareness to people who have the ability to fix the issues.
“I wanted to hear what the students thought because they can look at it differently and they can travel differently through campus than we do,” Schuppert said. “My hope is to have them be part of the solution to the problems or situations that they bring to us.”
One of the student attendees was Lexzi Caso, a sophomore involved with the Resident Hall Association. RHA decided to prioritize making campus safer for students as their campus betterment project this year, so they reached out to Schuppert to propose a walk around campus in which students and staff could point out specific, dangerous spots. Caso felt that the overall experience was beneficial, but that some of the responses were condescending.
“I think it’s great that we’re trying to change things,” Caso said. “I don’t know if in my time on campus, I will ever see these changes in motion.”
Caso has had a personal experience with endangerment walking alone on campus and felt that many students on campus pretend to feel safer than they actually are. With past incidents of trespassers in student dorms and negative experiences of other students, Caso takes more precautions walking on campus.
“I don’t walk anywhere on campus past 5:30 pm alone,” Caso said. “As a woman, it’s just terrifying to be honest.”
Becca Ellenbecker, administrative assistant in the arts department and advisor for Greek Life on campus, participated in the walk and was surprised about how many spots on campus didn’t have adequate lighting. She felt that the south side of campus was the worst, and that around the Stoller Center was an area of concern as well. “We have a ton of students that are athletes but then we also have our music students and art students, so both sides of campus are really quite scary,” Ellenbecker said. I haven’t seen any changes, but I’ve seen more awareness. I feel like more can be done, and more should be done.” — Chandler Fleming
El Personal y los Estudiantes Organizan una Caminata de Seguridad en el Campus
En la noche del 20 de octubre, el personal y los estudiantes de Pacific University caminaron por todo el campus con CPS y otros funcionarios de seguridad para identificar áreas peligrosas y determinar los pasos futuros para mejorar la seguridad general del campus.
Cindy Schuppert, directora de administración de instalaciones y seguridad pública del campus, organizó el evento e invitó a la gerente de emergencias Amy Rasmussen, los dos electricistas en el campus, tres oficiales de CPS y tres estudiantes. Durante la caminata, el grupo trabajó en conjunto para descubrir cuáles eran las opciones para una mejor iluminación y dar a conocer los problemas a las personas que tienen la capacidad de solucionar los problemas.
“Quería escuchar lo que pensaban los estudiantes porque pueden verlo de manera diferente y pueden viajar por el campus de manera diferente a como lo hacemos nosotros”, dijo Schuppert. “Mi esperanza es que sean parte de la solución a los problemas o situaciones que nos traen”.
Uno de los estudiantes que asistió fue Lexzi Caso, una estudiante de segundo año involucrada con la Asociación de Edificios de Residentes. RHA decidió priorizar hacer que el campus sea más seguro para los estudiantes como su proyecto de mejora del campus este año, por lo que se acercaron a Schuppert para proponer un recorrido por el campus en el que los estudiantes y el personal pudieran señalar lugares específicos y peligrosos. Caso consideró que la experiencia en general fue beneficiosa, pero que algunas de las respuestas fueron condescendientes. — Ariana Alcaraz
Major: Multimedia
Hometown: Parker, Colorado
Hobbies: Lacrosse, volleyball, cleaning, organizing, working for Dutch Bros
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