ASUA and SafeRide have come together after two years to bring back the annual Safety Fair today on the UA Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Safety Fair promotes different avenues students can take to improve on-campus safety, as well as sources of support and coping networks, said Jen Dang, administrative vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. The fair will also educate students on the boundaries and procedures of SafeRide.
Representatives from the Women’s Resource Center, CatsRidde, UA Alert and UAPD will be on hand to answer questions.
SafeRide will
The Safety Fair promotes different avenues students can take to improve on-campus safety, as well as sources of support and coping networks.
showcase an information board to show students program procedures and service improvements for the year, said Brittany Smith, SafeRide administrative director.
Smith added that volunteers will also give out free resources: magnets offering the program’s contact information, and small boundary and hours sheets.
“”It is interesting how few people know what SafeRide is,”” she said.
Volunteers will be giving out a survey so SafeRide can learn how to improve its services, Smith said. Women who participate will receive free pepper spray.
The Women’s Resource Center will put on a demonstration about its self-defense course, Dang said.
UA Alert, the university’s new emergency text message system, will have people to register students and tell them how the service works, she said.
Sen. Brent Hanson said he will attend to pass out flyers he created that list safety resources – such as poison control, UAPD and SafeRide – their phone numbers and a short description of each organization. The fliers also include information about the UA’s emergency blue-light stations.
“”The Safety Fair is reminding students of the programs (the) UA
already offers, because we have so many that go unused,”” Hanson said. “”Hopefully, the students that come will tell their friends, so those organizations will become more used and students will become more knowledgeable on what they do.””
ASUA has organized additional means of promoting campus safety. It is collecting safety testimonials via forms, available through the ASUA Web site, on which students can write short paragraphs sharing their experiences of feeling unsafe on campus, said Sen. James Pennington-McQueen.
In the next couple of months, a survey will be available for students to express whether they feel safe on campus, he said, adding that if there is enough relevant response, he will work with UA administrators to introduce more safety programs and improve current ones.
“”I want the hard facts that you can’t push under the rug or ignore,”” he said. “”I am trying to tie the hands of the administration so they know just putting in a blue light is not enough.””
He is encouraging all students to take the survey when it comes out and to fill out a safety testimonial form.
The more response ASUA receives from testimonials and surveys, the better chance the student body has to make any changes on campus, he said.