Next week, various events will be held to educate Vandals about how to stay safe and how to get involved in keeping their community safe during Campus Safety Week.
Coordinator for Violence Prevention Programs Emilie McLarnan said the week provides opportunities for students to educate themselves about safety.
“We want people to feel that they’re empowered members of the campus community and prepared for different kinds of safety situations,” McLarnan said. “We’re also trying to infuse the week with the idea of ‘I Got Your Back,’ so, that whole notion that Vandals help Vandals and people look out for each other.”
The week kicks off Sunday with a Green Dot bystander intervention program, McLarnan said. During the week, events covering sexual and relationship health, interpersonal violence, suicide prevention and alcohol safety will take over campus. The Moscow Police Department will hold an event called “How to Respond in an Active Shooter Situation” Monday.
The Katy Benoit Safety Forum will be held on Friday. Assistant Director for Programs at the Women’s Center Bekah MillerMacPhee said the forum is named after a UI student who was killed by her former professor. MillerMacPhee said Campus Safety Week was created because of Benoit’s death.
“It’s something that we will do every year because of that event,” MillerMacPhee said.
“Unfortunately, interpersonal violence is something that too many of our students experience.”
The goal of the week is to keep students safer, and MillerMacPhee said that goal is achieved through open conversation.
“We know that if we don’t talk about these topics, which most of them are very difficult, then we’re not going to able to find solutions,” MillerMacPhee said.
McLarnan said the university uses the week to re-dedicate itself to keeping students safe and ensuring they know what their resources are and where to find them. She said the “I Got Your Back” theme is important.
“We can each do a lot in our own personal spheres to help keep ourselves and our friends safer,” McLarnan said.
Student engagement and feedback is critical for the week and its events, MillerMacPhee said. She encouraged students to look at the schedule and find what interests them.
“Come. Pick an event. None of this matters without students,” MillerMacPhee said. “Students really do have a powerful voice and they really do have the ability to make change on campus and this is good way to do that.”
Jack Olson
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