In a continued effort to further the conversations surrounding safety on campus, the University of Arizona will host a first-of-its-kind safety fair.
The UA Office of Public Safety will lead the Wildcats Take Care Safety Fair on the UA Mall Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The fair will feature free safety training, vendors, live music, free food and games, among other things. UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins and Interim Chief Safety Officer Steve Patterson will also be speaking at the event, according to Security Threat Assessment Analyst Kirsten Rath.
The primary goal of this event is to raise awareness about the resources offered on campus to ensure the safety of community members, according to Rath. Rath described the fair as “a one-stop shop for anyone that wants to come by and encompass all aspects of safety for the university.”
While some of the booths will be catered to students and others to faculty and staff, there will be informational resources and opportunities for engagement for all members of the campus community.
“It’ll be a chance for everyone to come out and meet members from Public Safety […]. We’re also going to have the sexual assault prevention team out there, there’s going to be Counseling & Psych Services,” Rath said. “There’s going to be a lot of education and awareness on the upgrades that have been done over the past year from the Office of Public Safety.”
Some of the updates Rath mentioned include the development of new building emergency plans for all buildings on campus, an updated UAlert system and updates to the Threat Assessment and Management Team.
Raising awareness for these updates and for different services provided by groups on campus is a priority for the office, and is one of the primary goals of the fair.
“By promoting more educational awareness on what there is to offer and the different programs that are available,” Rath said. “I think that’s the best way to mitigate a lot of the things that have the potential to occur.”
Students will also have opportunities for hands-on engagement with different aspects of safety; UA Emergency Medical Services will offer CPR and Stop the Bleed training. Risk Management Services will also hold ladder safety training, and, according to Rath, students will be able to participate in a variety of safety-oriented games and activities.
According to an email statement made by James Rockow, the chief and executive director of UA EMS, the group is excited to offer training to students on campus who wish to take part.
“We will be out at the event with CPR mannequins, AED trainers, and Stop the Bleed training equipment. We will be doing demonstrations on Compression only CPR, AED setup and use, and how to ‘Stop the Bleed,’” Rockow said in the statement. “While we won’t be giving out any certifications at the event due to time constraints, we will have resources on how to get certified in CPR and Stop the Bleed and invite people to participate in guided hands-on interaction with the equipment.”
However, the fair’s resources and activities will extend beyond just topics of security. A “Stuff the Bus” event will allow students to donate items to campus closet and campus pantry. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to sign up for the campus blood drive taking place Nov. 9, according to Rath.
The fair will also feature UAPD DJ Joe Bermudez and Maggie, the UAPD emotional support dog.
Rath hopes that this engagement with the campus community will continue long after the fair. She noted that the Office of Public Safety will continue to incorporate feedback from community stakeholders as safety updates are made.
“We’re just hoping that we keep safety alive and thriving throughout campus, throughout the year,” Rath said. “I think it’s very important that we promote everything that everyone has to offer and also show […] we’re really listening to everyone, we’re reading the surveys […]. We are going to do a survey during the fair if anyone wants to give us feedback, we want to make sure we’re capturing as much feedback as possible from all members of the campus community.”
The Office of Public Safety hopes to make this fair an annual event, according to Rath.
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