The Boston University Police Department and the Wellness and Prevention services of Student Health Services partnered to host a giveaway in the George Sherman Union on Wednesday and Thursday to promote BUPD’s new #StayScarySafeBU campaign. The campaign was designed by PRLab to educate students on safe drinking during Halloween.
BUPD officers, Wellness and Prevention services student ambassadors and PRLab representatives tabled at the GSU Link, handing out candy and flyers and encouraging students to speak with officers about how to be safe during the upcoming Halloween.
BUPD has been trying to promote a positive image since partnering with PRLab a few years ago, said Daniella Weiss, a College of Communication junior and a PRLab account executive.
“A lot of students don’t know the kind of resources that BUPD has,” Weiss said. “They just think of them as a scary, far-off presence, but BUPD is really trying to involve themselves in the student life.”
Weiss said PRLab wants to promote the BUPD as a friendly resource so students feel they can contact the BUPD for help in alcohol-related emergencies — especially near Halloween when they tend to be needed the most.
“We have gotten some statistics from BUPD on transports and drinking-involved cases that come to their attention circulating Halloween, and that is probably the biggest event,” Weiss said. “That’s when most of their attention is needed.”
Officers were present at the giveaway to answer questions, offer safety tips and promote BUPD safety events. One of the goals of the campaign is for students to be able to speak directly to officers in a non-emergency setting, according to BUPD Lieutenant Anastasios Giannopoulos.
“We have seen through the years,” Giannopoulos wrote in an email, “that any effort to connect the officers with the community through educational events is very effective and informative.”
PRLab reached out to Wellness and Prevention services for resources to provide to students on alcohol safety, Wellness and Prevention services director Katharine Mooney said.
Wellness and Prevention services provided PRLab with information on BU’s Good Samaritan policy, data on student drinking and wallet-sized cards that list signs of an alcohol emergency and emergency phone numbers, according to Mooney.
Mooney said Halloween presents a particularly high risk of alcohol abuse.
“We’ve noticed over the last several years that basically ‘Halloweekend,’ depending on when the holiday falls, is when we see some of the most risky drinking happening on campus,” Mooney said. “We’re very interested in partnering with other groups and departments on campus to help get our resources out.”
Wellness and Prevention services also oversees the Student Health Ambassadors, a group of undergraduates planning an alcohol safety outreach on Thursday and Friday outside Warren Towers and in West Campus.
Several students at the giveaway said this new campaign has improved their understanding of BUPD’s resources.
Blake Shores, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he thinks misconceptions about the police are prevalent on campus.
“People associate [the police] with ‘I’m going to get in trouble,’ when they’re there for resources to help you out, [like to] take you home,” Shores said. “They’re not looking to get you in trouble. I feel like that is a very common misconception.”
Senila Yasmin, a sophomore in CAS, said she and most of her peers trust the BUPD and would not hesitate to contact them in an emergency.
“I would not fear calling BUPD if something was to go wrong,” Yasmin said. “I actually have their number in my phone as a contact, and it definitely would be the first place I would contact.”
Yasmin said she thinks the Good Samaritan policy — which provides legal protection for students who call the police to help others — is not understood well enough on campus.
“There should probably be more outreach,” Yasmin said of the BUPD, “because I think people know that it exists, but they’re probably still scared they would end up getting in trouble.”
Rose Garrett, a senior in CAS, recalled when the BUPD staged a fake attack in the GSU last year to inform students about the BUPD and let them get to know the officers.
“It was really cool and they should do that again this year,” Garrett said. “My freshman year, because I was in West Campus next to them, it was like ‘Oh my gosh, we’re hammered coming home’ but they’re just there to help us and make sure we’re safe. They’re not there to penalize us.”
Isabel is a sophomore in the College of Communication and the Opinion Editor for Fall 2018. Follow her on Twitter @isabelcowens.
