“Awareness” is a fundamental word for the Villanova Department of Public Safety.
Throughout the week of Sept. 25, Public Safety will host a series of special events on campus in recognition of National Campus Safety Awareness Month. The variety of events, ranging from safety training to guest speakers to food trucks, aim to inform students about emergency resources and allow them to meet Public Safety officers and staff.
“We’re trying to give more opportunities for community members to interact with our staff so that there is a feeling of trust,” Deputy Chief of Police and Associate Director of Public Safety Debra Patch said. “We want our community members to know us before we have to get to know them.”
The week will begin with CPR training sessions and a trivia and pizza night on Monday. On Tuesday, Public Safety will sponsor self-defense classes, which are open to all members of the Villanova community.
On Wednesday, FBI Agent George Husk will visit Villanova for two community-wide active shooter response training sessions from 12–2 p.m. and 4–6 p.m.
“By doing self-defense classes, it’s being more proactive rather than waiting until something happens,” Patch said.
On Thursday, Public Safety officers and staff will be available throughout campus to answer questions and provide information about resources and services that students can use in the event of an emergency or other situation.
A primary campus safety resource that Public Safety will promote to students during next week’s events is the NovaSafe app. Through the app, students can call an emergency number, submit anonymous tips, track the campus shuttle, view a crime map and more at just the click of a button. Those who do not feel comfortable making a phone call in an emergency can also use NovaSafe to text live with the dispatcher.
Public Safety officers encourage the campus community to be proactive when it comes to preventing and reporting crimes.
“We’re here 24 hours a day and seven days a week, but we really count on our community members to be extra eyes and ears all over campus,” Patch said. “In the Wildcat Newswire, there will be some safety tips for things we would typically see on a college campus in the first couple weeks of school. Recently, we posted about social media scams.”
Other opportunities hosted by Public Safety will include “Coffee with a Cop,” as well as a food truck and ice cream event. Patch also assures that Public Safety’s community canine, Taffy, will attend most of the week’s events.
In conjunction with the beginning of a new semester, Public Safety is working to confirm that all community members have access to the NovaAlert system after issuing a test alert on Sept. 14. Public Safety urges students and staff who did not receive the alert through email and text to adjust their alert settings in MyNova as soon as possible.
“We know that a lot of new students get this kind of information at orientation and from their RAs, but not everybody may know,” Patch said. “This is a good opportunity for us to make sure that the community members know what resources are available to them while they’re here on campus.”
More information about upcoming Public Safety events and safety tips will be included in the community-wide Wildcat Newswire emails and on fliers around campus throughout the coming weeks.
