Tyne Klammer
Staff Reporter
As the school year progresses, it’s important to be informed about precautions one can take to ensure the safety of themselves and others. In an interview with José Curiel Morelos, the new director of Campus Safety, gave insight into the practices and procedures that students should know going forward:
Many students have concerns about their personal safety when coming to or returning from evening events and activities. Morelos stated that students with vehicles, “should park in a well lit area, keeping all valuable items out of site.”
For students who are commuting across campus by foot, Morelos adds that, “campus safety also provides courtesy escorts and rides around campus property”. To use this service, he says, “Campus Safety can be reached at 253-535-7441.
The PLU demographics page states that, “66.7% of [undergraduate] students live off campus/commute.” Of those students who do not reside in residence halls but live near campus in the Parkland community, I asked Morelos if he had any suggestions for these students in particular. He stated that, “Personal safety is all of our individual responsibility. Students are encouraged to be responsible and practice good safety habits.” He suggested some of these safety habits, including, “traveling in groups when walking, especially at night.” When leaving the house, he says to, “let a friend or roommate know your plans and when they may expect your return, especially when you are on your own.”
As far as suspicious behavior goes, Morelos says to watch out for, “people hanging inside of vehicles for long periods of time or anyone looking into windows or parked cars.” These specific actions refer to the fact that, “criminals look for valuable items and then return to prowl at a later time”, he states.
As a closing to our interview, I asked if there was anything else that the director wanted the campus community to know. He said that, “Campus Safety’s goal is to serve the PLU community, promote and sustain a safe environment, and effectively respond to campus incidents. In order to create and maintain the highest level of safety, it takes a cooperative approach from both the individual and university.” Morelos opened up the conversation to the students as well, adding that, “if you have any suggestions for how Campus Safety can more effectively meet these goals, please let me know.” Campus safety can be emailed at csin@plu.edu.
Just as a reminder, Campus Safety provides services such as emergency notifications, walking escorts, admits, vehicle assistance, surveillance, emergency response, and lost and found. You can find more information on their website: http://www.plu.edu/campus-safety.
