The website, campussafety.unm.edu, was created “to share important information with the entire campus community and enlist their support to enhance the safety and security of our campus,” said the University’s Emergency Manager Byron Piatt. “This is just one of the many ways that we are trying to make students, faculty, staff and visitors of our campus more aware of their surroundings and of resources that may be able to assist them.”
Accessible from UNM’s homepage, the site features helpful University contacts, past advisories, current alerts, safety apps, information on Emergency Blue Phones – the columns located around campus for emergency assistance – and more.
One of UNM’s smart phone-compatible apps, LoboGuardian, is featured on the site. LoboGuardian allows users to report tips to police, make quick-dial emergency phone calls and has an emergency timer for calling a roommate or someone else of interest if the user does not return home or to their dorm on time.
Past LoboAlerts can also be found on the site. As part of a complex notification system, this text messaging resource sends students weather and safety alerts. The rest of the system is composed of a warning siren, e-mail alerts and updates on the webpage.
The site also gives upcoming dates for campus-wide siren tests. The Campus Warning Siren System is tested every semester and is “usually done in the first two or three weeks of class, and always at 11:02 am,” Piatt said.
The next test will be held tomorrow, Sept. 1. The process will be as follows: central and south campus sirens will sound for one minute each, there will be one minute of silence and a minute-long “all clear” tone will conclude the process. Test e-mail, website and text alerts will also be sent beforehand to students so they know what to expect.
Piatt encouraged students to be more aware of their surroundings by sharing emergency alert messages with others, reporting safety hazard information, avoiding excessive use of headphones, letting others know where they are going and when they will return and generally keeping personal safety a top priority. He also wants students to be aware of the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (CCERT), a group of trained responders who may be available to assist during an emergency.
“We typically teach the course each semester through the Health Exercise and Sports Sciences Program,” he said. Piatt can be contacted at bpiatt@salud.unm.edu by students who are interested in the course or in the safety website in general.
UNM’s Clery Act compliance officer Rob Burford calls the website a “[consolidation] of things we had in other places,” meaning the University established a single place for students, faculty and families to find all campus safety resources.
LoboRESPECT’s student coordinator Kyle Stepp said the website is not only a resource for total campus safety, but it will also “provide members of the ‘Lobo Pack’ a central location for resources to eliminate and reduce sexual assault/harassment. There are many students not aware of the resources provided during times of trouble. The University of New Mexico is taking a firm stance in prevention and response [to] sexual assault in order to provide a safe place to thrive academically. It’s our time to unite as one to protect the pack.”
Elizabeth Sanchez is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
