On Tuesday Oct. 1, Washburn University’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report became available to students. The 56-page report discusses campus safety, various procedures, statistics and more.

The report is a public record and accessible to the community. Students, faculty and staff are notified via e-mail of the report and how to access it. The report may also be accessed at the university police department.

Reports of crime or suspicious activity on campus buildings, residence halls, parking lots or properties should be reported to WUPO at 785-670-1153. Emergencies should be reported by calling 911. There are 13 emergency telephones located around campus that are directly connected to WUPO. When activated, the telephone tower flashes a blue light at the top.

WUPO provides campus safety services 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

TPD provides WUPO with monthly crime statistics for the areas surrounding Washburn. There is a full list of Washburn’s crime statistics from 2016-2018 located on pages 44-46 of the report. There is a daily crime log that WUPO maintains that can be accessed by the public on Washburn’s website.

There are security awareness programs that may be provided to faculty, staff and students. Topics discussed at orientation sessions are sexual assault prevention and reporting, property security, reporting crime, domestic violence reporting and personal security. The student handbook contains information on personal safety and a brief overview of the topics listed above. WUPO gives a presentation to WU 101 courses at Washburn on campus safety each semester.

Recently, WSGA partnered with WUPO for National Campus Safety Awareness Week, where important information was posted for students to encourage conversations about campus safety among the campus community.

“Washburn can continue their effort for awareness. Campus is big and I think communication can always be improved. They are doing a good job though,” said Paul Mismaque, director of marketing and public relations for WSGA who has been working closely with campus officials regarding campus safety. Mismaque is a senior double majoring in marketing and economics.

Because Washburn is a dry campus, there are also procedures outlined in the report for alcohol and illicit possession and consumption on campus by students, faculty and staff.

All Washburn University faculty members are mandated reporters and are to report any information to WUPO regarding crime, violence, potential harm, harassment or other alarming information that may compromise the safety of a student.

WUPO will issue a timely warning in the event of an immediate or continuing threat to the campus community via Washburn’s e-mail system to all faculty, staff and students. There is also the iAlert system that notifies students of incidents involving campus safety. The iAlerts can be sent via e-mail, text or phone call. It is discussed at new student orientations, WU 101, Welcome Week, Washburn’s social media and campus bulletins. Students are highly encouraged to sign up for the program. You can sign up by going to the iAlert page on Washburn’s website.

“What I like about the iAlert system is that the message goes to everything: your phone and email. We do not have speaker phones in classrooms, so the iAlert keeps students in the know if something happens,” said Mismaque.

The full details of the security report can be found at www.washburn.edu/securityreport.

Edited by Shelby Hanson, Adam White, Jessica Galvin