Student senators aim to address campus safety concerns
To address student safety concerns, an ASUWT committee has met with Campus Safety to work towards a safer campus.
Campus safety has been a primary point of concern for students and student workers alike. To work towards a safer and more secure campus, student representatives have met with the Office of Campus Security to communicate the needs of students.
Evan Campbell, a Business Senator here at UWT, was one of the students who met with the Campus Security Office. Evan is a graduate student working with a committee addressing safety and security concerns.
“The University has done a lot as far as safety but there’s always room for improvement,” said Senator Campbell. “It is [the university’s] responsibility to facilitate a safe community and an environment where students can focus on their academics without external factors taking away from their learning.”
Senator Campbell named multiple ways to make a safer and more secure campus. The first is to make students aware of the resources available to them. These include an escort service, anonymous reporting, mental health support, and more. All campus security resources are available on the office’s website.
“There’s a lot of resources that aren’t being taken advantage of,” said Senator Campbell. “Knowing what going on and what resources are out there, I feel like bringing that awareness to students is important.”
Senator Campbell plans to use his position to help students access these resources throughout the school year.
He also highlighted that safety concerns could be a deterrent for future enrollment.
“With the overarching theme right now being low student enrollment rates, we don’t need any reasons for students not to go here,” said Senator Campbell. “If we don’t have a campus that feels safe, students aren’t going to attend.”
To gauge campus safety, the safety committee plans to survey students soon. The survey will be sent out via email and students will have the opportunity to respond. By doing so, they will have evidence of the area’s students would like more investment. This will aid the committee in deciding where to invest more effort and money.
Senator Campbell also wants students to know that he and the other senators are there to stand for student needs.
“Your ASUWT senators are here to help and to listen and if students have any concerns or anything they want to talk about, we have an open door,” said Senator Campbell. “I feel like sometimes, especially since we are coming back from learning in a virtual world, it’s been hard to get students to open up. I really encourage students to get out of their shell and express their feelings, express their thoughts.”
If students want to voice their concerns, they can find their senators contact information on the ASUWT webpage. Keep an eye out for the upcoming survey in your student email.
