BY LORI KLEIN
For the UAS Whalesong

In 1986, a young woman by the name of Jeanne Clery started her freshman year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Jeanne and her parents were looking for a small and safe campus for Jeanne to start her college career, and Lehigh seemd to fit the bill. At the end of her freshman year, Jeanne was raped and murdered in her residence hall room. It was only then that her parents learned that her death was one of 38 major crimes that had taken place in or nearby the campus over the last three years.

Jeanne’s parents worked with legislators to implement the Clery Act requiring colleges and universities receiving federal financial aid to report major crime statistics annually. Those stats get shared with the federal government, with students and employees, and with the general public. You can find crime stats for the University of Alaska Southeast at: http://www.uas.alaska.edu/policies/safety/crime-stats.html

In 2008, the U.S. Congress unanimously designated September as National Campus Safety Awareness month. It’s an important time to introduce campus safety resources to new students and remind returning students and employees that it takes a campus community to create a safe learning environment.

What has National Campus Safety Awareness Month looked like at UAS?
• Training employees on emergency management and Title IX services and resources
• Conducting emergency management tabletop exercises
• Sharing campus safety information with students at New Student Orientation
• Promoting campus safety issues during Campus Kickoff
• Engaging students through The Wall of Hope – suicide prevention initiative
• Screening the documentary film The Hunting Ground followed by discussion with students and community partners
• Launching Green Dot – active bystander training for students

And what’s next? UAS is partnering with AWARE (Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies) to bring advocate services directly to campus. Stay tuned for more about that. We are strengthening our partnership with the Juneau Police Department. In the months to come, you will see more programming and opportunities to engage in important conversations about campus safety.
Look out for each other. Ask for help if you or someone you know is in trouble or struggling. If you’re not sure who to contact, start here:
• 911 for emergencies
• 796-6000 Student Resource Center (counseling, advising, etc.)
• 796-6389 Student Conduct Director http://www.uas.alaska.edu/students/guide/conduct.html
• 796-6036 Title IX Coordinator http://www.uas.alaska.edu/policies/titleix.html