Safety week kicked off at LSU on Monday, offering daily, interactive events to educate students on campus safety with a special focus on being cautious during spring break.
The informational event comes on the heels of an academic year rife with safety concerns from parents and students.
The week began with a tabling event on Monday in Free Speech Plaza. A variety of campus groups including Residential Life, LSU Police, Wellness and Health Promotion, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, the Women’s Center, Campus Life, and Greek Life offered advice on how to stay safe, with giveaways and games to attract students.
Amanda Bartulis, a freshman finance major at LSU, attended the kickoff tabling event.
“Safety is important to maintain the well-being of all students and make sure campus is a place where they can express themselves and better themselves through education in a safe way,” Bartulis said.
The dining halls hosted tabling events on Tuesday.
Bart Thompson, LSU’s chief of police, said simple tactics like locking car doors, paying attention to your surroundings and walking in lighted areas can help students avoid dangerous situations.
“The big thing with safety, whether you’re on campus or off campus, is be alert,” Thompson said. “We have become a big city, so we are trying to educate our student population when you go around areas, be alert.”
A large focus throughout safety week is how students can protect themselves during spring break.
The LSU Shield app is available for students to use no matter where they’re traveling or what city they’re in. Through GPS tracking, a student can use the emergency call in the Shield app, and it will alert the closest county 911, Thompson said.
Advice shared with students and events held throughout the week are offered to initiate safety conversations in activity-based and non-judgemental ways.
The LSU Student Health Center hosted “Sex Signals,” a program by Catharsis Productions, on Wednesday. It aimed to dismantle rape culture, promote healthy relationships and educate students about consent.
“It’s important to engage in preventive conversations, so that we have a basic knowledge, tools, skills and approaches to keep ourselves safe when we find ourselves in troublesome situations,” said Michael Eberhard, the director of wellness and health promotion at the Student Health Center.
Eberhard said students have a variety of resources to help them stay safe.
“You don’t have to do it alone,” Eberhard said. “There are so many great resources on campus and I think a lot of students sometimes will see the resource and think, ‘Oh, that’s for somebody else, not me,’ but it is for you, it’s for everybody.”
Safety week also targeted pedestrian safety with tabling events on Wednesday at the Old President’s House, the Tureaud Hall crosswalk and the Nicholson Gateway Apartments. Information aimed to help students improve their knowledge on navigating traffic and campus walkways.
Students interested in learning more about Safety Week events can visit tabling events throughout campus or visit Residential Life’s social media channels for a full list of activities.
