The handbook and contract are the backbone of security enforcement in the dorms, particularly with the residents. Within these two documents are the vast majority of the rights and responsibilities of both parties, the residents and HFS. This is where a resident can be referred if he has any questions, and should be well known and understood by all of the staff.

If at any time an event occurs that affects the security in a large enough way that it sends shockwaves to people that are not involved, the event should be discussed between all of the staff so that the facts are understood and a similar event can be prevented in the future. If the event proves to be of a large enough impact, changing programming to respond is a legitimate reaction. Residents will not feel safe if they believe a problem is being ignored.

To make sure that the planning and implementing of this campaign are completed in a timely manner, we have several suggestions. First, we need to make sure that each member of the committee knows his or her responsibilities and assigned areas. Rules and policies that are to be followed as a member of this committee will be set up and put in place immediately. Members will also know their exact duties and know who to contact in case of question. Also, though individuals may plan and develop their own individual programs, each member of the committee can help with the actual implementation of them. We will thus not only provide assistance for each other, but serve as a check on each other while promoting teamwork. If a member fails to uphold his or her responsibilities, it will first be addressed amongst the committee so that his or her actions may be explained. Based on the severity or the frequency of the irresponsibility, the member may be recommended for probation or dismissal. We will hold our jobs to be

very important and not tolerate lackadaisical work ethics.

To gain the support and cooperation of all staff, we would submit a written proposal (like this one!) to fellow employees of HFS as well as UWPD. This proposal would address current safety and security issues as well as state our goals and programming ideas that will promote a safer UW campus. We would also responsibly submit an estimated budget for our programming and list of additional resources of which we would like to take advantage. During the course of the year, we also would like to publish our successes in a small quarterly report or newsletter to keep UW staff up-to-date with our progress. With a team comprised of UW students, staff, and the UWPD, our Safety and Security Awareness Committee can hopefully lead to a more secure campus for everyone.

Smartee and Dum Dum Door Checks

1) At 5 a.m. during the week, RAs will go throughout the dorms and check everyone’s doors. Everyone with their door locked will receive a Smartee, everyone unlocked will get a Dum Dum.

2) By springtime students will be more relaxed about their environment, and be comfortable with their door unlocked. While this is good when they are awake, it is dangerous to their personal property while they are sleeping. Reminding everyone to lock their doors at night will reduce any theft.

3) The event should be hall-wide for maximum impact, so all RAs would be needed to participate, as well as enough candy to leave everyone the appropriate kind.

C. You’re Not in Kansas Anymore Dorothy

1) We can invite a couple of people from the Seattle community to come and talk about being safe while exploring Seattle. We can focus on a couple of different districts that are most frequented by students such as Downtown, Pioneer Square, Green Lake, and Wallingford. We could discuss different times of day that are safer than others, where to go and what to do if you do not feel safe, and different transportation options if one stopped running, such as the metro buses. Suggestions will be made, to always go in groups and stay in groups if you are unsure. As students prepare to return to the real world, perhaps to live in Seattle over the summer as their first time out in the world, it is important to send them out prepared in order for them to come back.

2) Feeling safe on the UW campus is only part of the equation. Feeling safe in the larger Seattle community is required for the student to feel mobile and secure in their new home. This program is to encourage the residents to be aware of the dangers that come with living in a metropolitan city and how to both handle them and prevent them.

3) The amount of time spent trying to find appropriate representatives at the question and answer session will be directly related to the quality and impact of the event.

4) All employees will be invited to come and bring their residents with them. Discussions become more valuable the more input you have.

Spring

A. Hike for a Natural High

1) We will plan a hike and entitle that trek: “Take a Hike to a Natural High”. This activity will take planning efforts; but will ultimately show students that there are other natural, safer, law abiding ways to live and get a “natural high”. This will be an opportunity for students to get away from the dorms, experience a day in fresh, crisp nature, and have fun.

2) Drug awareness is a potential problem that residents may face within the residence halls, if not within their college experience. For the most part, students have been educated about the dangers and risks that come with taking drugs from previous experience (from high school or peers or parents) such addiction, legal consequences and even death. Our focus will be to not only divert activity from drugs, but to promote other things to do. Know your enemy.

3) Depending on the location to do the hike, vans may be needed, which would have to be requested with the appropriate paperwork. The length of time is also variable, but food might be needed as well depending on the length. It would be good to go on a hike and come back to food waiting.

4) Several employees should go so that one person does not feel overwhelmed by students.

2. Winter

A. “Marilyn Monroe and Billie Holliday: Dead Drunk Divas” Bulletin Board

1) An Alcohol Awareness bulletin board will be posted in the main lounge during winter quarter. This bulletin board will address issues of alcohol safety and tragic consequences. It will be called “Marilyn Monroe and Billie Holliday: Dead Drunk Divas” and will focus on the amazing number of very gifted celebrities that have drank themselves to death.

2) Keeping the pressure on students to contemplate the risks of drinking will set in motion change to individual lifestyles.

3) Everything needed will come from the advisory office supplies, such as construction paper, butcher paper, and printing services.

4) Other employees will be making their own bulletin boards, so viewing and perhaps trading boards allows their individual messages to reach a greater audience. Searching for housing can be incredibly tough.

B. Track the Transient contest

1) Students will be invited to play in a contest of spotting the RA from another building dressed up as a transient trying to break the rules. The disguised RA will attempt to follow people through at doors, as well as fall asleep around the dorms. The first resident to report him to some sort of authority will receive a prize of a combination lock and looped cable. One week beforehand, appropriate promotion will go up around the dorm to avoid any confusion. The person disguised as a transient will do this at different times of day, with at least 6 people getting prizes.

2) By the time it is winter quarter, it is much colder outside, and the likelihood of an intruder is much higher. If proper guarding and reporting techniques are rewarded by prizes, residents will know proper procedure and be more likely to report anything they recognize as not right.

3) Gathering the appropriate clothing for a costume will take time, and the prizes will take money. It will also take effort to find an RA from another dorm willing to do this. It may be necessary to have two or three mock-transients due to scheduling necessities.

4) Everyone working in the building will be notified of the project beforehand so that there is no confusion or alarm.

C. Who Cares??? We Care! UW CARES!!

1) For this program, we will have a UW police officer as well as other resources such as UW CARES and Night Ride. We can have drinks offered, and each of the speakers can talk about their program and why it is important that students utilize it. They can talk about recent and past events that have compromised student safety on campus and how to be more aware of your surroundings on campus. Following the brief introduction to each of the programs, the students are encouraged to go on a quick walk with the representatives around campus. The leaders will point out where students can call for rides and where to wait. They will also describe different parts of campus that are less safe than others (the parking garage) and how to be more aware of your surroundings while walking around campus at night or where there are less people. After the twenty minute walk, the students and leaders will meet at one of the dorms, and enjoy free pizza, pop, desserts, and have the option to talk more with the representatives and gather information pamphlets.

2) Part of feeling safe and secure on the campus is becoming familiar with the campus itself as well as being aware of the available programs that exist to keep the students safe. Winter quarter is a prime time to brush the students up on safety on campus, with the days getting shorter and fewer people out on campus.

3) All of the food supplies for the pizza party afterwards will need to be paid for, appropriate pamphlets will need to be gathered or perhaps requested if a lot are needed. The guide-speakers will need to be called and scheduled long before hand.

4) Everyone will be invited and RA’s will be asked to bring students from their floors.

C. Mix it Up with Mocktails

1) This will be a night where residents can come and make their own virgin: Strawberry Daiquiris, Shirley Temples, Piña Coladas, Lava Overflows, and Passion fruit mixes. This activity is to promote and provide safe substitutions for under-aged youth. As a little surprise, after students come to make their own mocktails and drink them- a UW police officer will “happen to drop by” and will administer a sobriety test to individuals while they are wearing beer goggles!

2) This will be a memorable way for students to know what could potentially happen to them when they are caught drinking. The beer goggles coupled with a straight line provide a tangible example of the state that alcohol puts your body into.

3) All of the supplies for the drinks will have to be bought, an officer will need to be requested to come by and bring the beer goggles.

4) Other residents and RAs will be welcome to come, but this project will likely be localized to a floor.

B. Hiii-Yah! Jackie Chan This!!

1) To truly feel safe in you environment, you must not only feel secure in you surroundings, but also feel confident in your abilities to either protect yourself or get yourself out of possibly harmful situations. Learning self-defense is a fun, empowering way to feel confident in your surroundings. The residence hall program focusing on personal safety will incorporate techniques for self-defense and intelligent actions. A main area in the dorm, where students tend to congregate will have the floor covered with padding. Four to five self defense instructors, including Karate and Tai Kwon Do if available, will be on hand to demonstrate techniques and martial arts. There they can mimic attack scenes and get themselves out of them quickly, efficiently, and easily. The fun part comes next. All of the students will now have a chance to practice the simple techniques on the mat by themselves and with each other while guided by the instructors including techniques to get out of different attack holds. After a couple of hours of having fun trying out self-defense, we can put up a huge screen with projector in the main area and watch a Jackie Chan movie. This would be a fun way to end the self-defense class, while we watch Mr. Chan utilize some of the moves we just practiced.

2) This program is placed during autumn quarter because it will bring the students together to perform interactions (learning self defense on each other) that will familiarize them with each other- a crucial part of autumn quarter.

3) Obtaining the proper volunteers and working out the rules regarding having a physical activity like grappling going on in the halls will be most of the work for this program. A projector and Jacky Chan movie also need to be obtained.

4) This is an event that everyone could benefit from attending and so the more staff there with people from their floors, the better

1. Autumn

A. Engraving and Selling Laptop Locks

1) The weekend after the first week of school, 2 RAs will sit at a table

with an engraver and a signup sheet for ordering laptop locks. They will be offering to engrave anything of value with the residents name and driver’s license number.

2) Offering to engrave everything as soon as possible will have the greatest effect on preventing theft and increasing returned items. Raising awareness about the ease to steal a laptop will convince residents to both be more careful about leaving their door open and leaving their laptop in a condition where it cannot be easily stolen.

3) A table, chairs, and an engraver borrowed from the UWPD are needed.

4) The other employees can help by being one of the two working at the table, but this program will require little other assistance.

Throughout the year the RAs will plan programming and activities to accomplish at least some of the goals listed above for every resident in the hall. Through these activities, as well as proper enforcement and upholding of university policy will remind everyone of the serious nature of these issues. Through programs that teach how and what each individual should do to keep both themselves and the greater university environment safe. The various events are carefully placed on the calendar to respond to issues as they become more prevalent in the residents lives. They all will also be planned will appropriate publicity, posters and newsletters as well as word of mouth, to get the message of the labor to the most people. This therefore means that all projects will require appropriate materials for publicity.

Personal Safety represents all safety issues not specifically noted from the categories of drugs and alcohol and vagrancy and theft. These cover a wide scope and are less likely to be encountered on a regular basis. Because of the rarity of events pertaining, maintaining awareness of the necessary response among residents is paramount.

Much of this information is referred to in the Residence Hall System Handbook, which is why stressing the reading and understanding of the handbook at the beginning of the year has such a positive effect. The protocol regarding living safety and fire safety is explicitly defined. Students need to know what to do in case of a fire alarm or an earthquake. Residents should feel safe to travel around campus after dark and any other time with the use of UW Cares if needed. At times, safety issues will be more than on campus affairs, including taking steps to protect yourself from crimes, avoiding criminal behavior, and knowing what to do if you are a victim of a crime. An emphasis within this category is students knowing the steps they can take to reduce the risks of acquaintance rape and also know how to take precautions to help prevent stranger rape or any other violent crimes.

Protection from Vagrancy and Theft includes everything residents need to know about keeping their personal property and the personal property of other residents safe. We will need to make sure residents know why they should always lock their doors and always carry their keys with them. Resident advisors can assist the students in keeping their personal belongings safe with the use of bike registration, bike locks, property engraving, and renters insurance. Residents should know why they should not allow strangers in the building as well as not to proping doors open for any reason. Lastly, residents should know to report suspicious behavior and individuals to University staff or the UWPD immediately.

Our group has identified three major categories of safety and security issues that residents in the halls may encounter. The three major categories are Drug and Alcohol Safety, Protection from Vagrancy and Theft, and Personal Safety.

Drugs and alcohol are two of the most common offenses that the average college student will experience. Education will focus on: the residents learning the residence hall policies on drugs and alcohol, knowing how to respond appropriately when a peer has overdosed on drugs or alcohol, warning of the negative side affects of drugs and alcohol, and guiding to where they can get help if they have a drug or alcohol problem. The likelihood of students experimenting or even consistently using drugs and alcohol is recognized, and because of this, learning and understand the physiological and psychological effects of drugs and alcohol will be used to make informed decisions. This will lead to knowing how to make encounters where residents are using drugs or alcohol less physically damaging. If students are given information about the norms of student drinking they will judge and hopefully moderate their own drinking. Finally, if a basic understanding of all types or drugs and the effects that these drugs can have on their bodies is given, accidents or experimentation can be prevented.