Safety panel’s concern
Blaine Hubbard - April 24th, 2008A six-member panel discussing campus and community safety addressed a relatively sparse crowd in the Du Bois Center ballroom on Wednesday, April 9 at 5 p.m.
The forum, titled “Campus and Community Safety: It’s Everybody’s Business” did not draw significant attention from students or residents. Panel members and other representatives in the room outnumbered the 15 to 20 audience members by almost two to one.
Representatives from local police departments, Flagstaff Fire Department (FFD), NAU’s Counseling and Testing Center (CTC), Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC), Fronske Health Center and several other groups were there to enlighten students and community members on their practices and policies, as well as to give advice intended to help keep NAU and Flagstaff communities safe for residents.
The discussion was moderated by Rick Brandel, NAU dean of students, who began the meeting by introducing the six panel members and then asking each of them to give a brief overview of how they assist in different situations and how their services can maximize efficiency for students and residents alike.
“Our goal is to give helpful information that you will find to be valuable, as well as to provide new information which will make you a more reliable resource for friends with whatever part of campus you are a part of,” Brandel said.
As a part of each panel members’ introduction, they explained how their organization operates on campus, and how and when students and residents can make use of their services.
First to speak from the panel was Timothy Fleming, Fronske Health Center medical director. Fleming gave a brief overview of what kind of situations the health center handles and what changes have been made to the operating hours to accommodate student and staff needs.
Christopher Gunn, director of CTC, was next to make his introduction and to highlight what types of situations the counseling center deals with, as well as what students can do if they are concerned about the mental health of a friend or roommate.
Gunn explained how the CTC provides services to students, employers and faculty members alike to ensure a healthy mental atmosphere on campus.
“If somebody has a concern, they are welcome to call and consult with one of our counselors, one of our professional staff, to try to figure out at what level an intervention may be needed,” Gunn said.
Next to speak from the panel were the local police authorities: Chief Brent Cooper with FPD and Chief Greg Fowler with NAUPD.
Cooper introduced his position with FPD which is comprised of 114 officers who work very closely and collaboratively with the officers employed by NAUPD.
Cooper spoke briefly about the emergency notification system that alerts community members electronically of any extreme or potentially dangerous situation in the community. He referred to the program as a “reverse 911 notification system.”
Fowler drew the comparison between the previously mentioned notification system and the NAU Alert system used when a situation arises on campus to send a text message to the 5,500 registered participants.
“In addition to the students, faculty and staff that utilize that service, we are also entering into a program where the police chief, fire chief and communication supervisors in the surrounding public safety agencies will also get the NAU alerts,” Fowler said. “So in the event of a crisis, we will put out that very first alert to let people know that we have something going on and to avoid a certain part of campus.”
Some members in the audience were concerned the alert system was not being used properly and there had been situations they should have been notified about rather than receiving a text message saying classes were canceled due to snow conditions.
Fowler mentioned the partnership between NAUPD officers and community members and how this partnership helps to create a stronger relationship between the officers and those they protect.
“The thing I would like to talk to you about tonight is the participation we have with you and the partnership with our community here on campus,” Fowler said. “The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to talk about your safety, and when we talk about your safety we talk about that partnership we have with you — how we communicate, how we get the message back and forth and how we share information about what you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a victim on campus.”
Students can also make use of the safety escort service provided by the NAUPD by calling 523-3611.
In addition, the campus has several blue phones, which act as emergency phones that are directly linked to the NAUPD line for reporting emergencies. Each phone is placed so a student can see the next blue phone when standing at a phone location.
After the two police chiefs made their statements, FMC trauma nurse Shawn Bowker explained the operations taken by the medical center. She also mentioned that FMC houses the only trauma center in northern Arizona that provides care for a very large area surrounding Flagstaff.
Bowker said FMC provides services for a geographic region that extends farther north than the Utah border, east to the New Mexico border and south past the Verde Valley.
John Regner, firefighter with FFD, was the last of the panel members to introduce himself and to encourage the audience to ask any question that the representatives might be able to answer.
After the panel members’ statements, Brandel directed specific questions to members of the panel as well as other official representatives dispersed throughout the room.
Participants answered questions ranging from what kind of situations a level-one trauma center handles, to how police efforts are coordinated throughout the community and between the various departments.
The major concerns posed by audience members included where to go in case of ailment or injury when Fronske is closed and how to respond to fire drills and other emergencies in the residence halls.
After answering Brandel’s specific questions, the panel received a variety of inquiries from the audience ranging from why students are kept outside of the residence halls wearing pajamas, or sometimes less, during a fire drill, to how safe it really is to walk across campus alone at night.
Members of the panel answered questions from the audience as thoroughly as possible. After the formal presentation ended, representatives were able to stay in the ballroom to answer more specific questions from the audience in a more personal, one-on-one setting.
Brandel was disapointed with the low audience turn-out, saying the safety of the community members are something that everyone should learn how to enhance.
“It is my sincere desire that all members of the campus community, and particularly our students, take the opportunity to learn how they can make safety an important consideration in every aspect of their lives,” Brandel said on the NAU Web site.