The Boston University Police Department hosted a safety awareness day for international students in the George Sherman Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday. A group of experienced police officers from the BUPD was available to answer questions.
The awareness initiative was the first of its kind organized specifically for international students.
BUPD Chief Kelly Nee wrote in a press release that the event was specifically directed towards stopping the trend of scams aimed at international students.
“We hope that by providing this information to our international students, we can reduce their victimization,” Nee wrote.
The goals of the safety day were to “[describe] ways students can be scammed …, [give] students information on how to prevent these incidents from occurring … [and review] ways for students to stay safe,” BUPD Deputy Chief Robert Molloy wrote in an email.
The information given by the police officers who participated in the event consisted of infographics with safety tips and tutorials on how to recognize and correctly report suspicious behavior.
The fact that international students comprise such a high percentage of the BU student community means they are among the most likely population to fall victim to dangerous scams, said BUPD officer Peter Shin.
“International students might not be completely familiar with the law in this country,” Shin said. “I think in general they just remain a more viable target for bad guys.”
Molloy wrote that the safety awareness presentation was also a way to personally appeal to the significant international student population of BU.
“By focusing on international student safety day, we hope to connect with our international students and provide valuable information,” Molloy wrote.
Though Wednesday’s safety day was similar to previous BUPD events, the department wanted to encourage further international student involvement with this initiative.
“It is very similar to our safety day,” Molloy wrote. “However, our hope is that we get the attention from the international community by focusing on incidents they have experienced.”
Miya Giragosian, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thinks the safety awareness day was a good way of making sure international students feel safe and included in the BU community.
“Safety is important,” Giragosian said, “and [international students] should not feel like they are unwelcome here.”
Kyle Jaramillo, a senior in the Questrom School of Business, said he thinks the safety awareness day was beneficial to the BU community as a whole.
“It is definitely important that everybody, no matter if you are a native, American citizen or an international student, knows their rights when they are here in the United States of America,” Jaramillo said. “… It’s good that those in the proper positions to take care of situations like this are doing what they need to ensure the safety of BU and its student community.”
Molloy wrote that international students have actually requested that the BUPD “reach out to their community and get the message out” to prevent these scams on campus.
The most common types of scams international students face involve immigration-related threats, Shin said.
“One of the most common scams we’ve run into is when a person calls up [an international student] and says they’re either with ICE, FBI or the IRS, then tells the student they’re going to be deported or that there’s a warrant for their arrest,” Shin said.
These scammers are usually attempting to get money out of international students by instilling fear in them, Shin added, and then claiming they can solve the problem for a price.
BU’s student-run PRLab was in charge of the safety awareness day logistics and advertising, Molloy wrote. Along with the BUPD, they brainstormed ways of reaching the student community.
Amrit Gill, a junior in the College of Communication who helped organize the initiative, said PRLab members reasoned that allowing international students to meet police officers would dispel the notion that BUPD is removed from the students it protects.
“BUPD came to us saying they really wanted to do something that gets to international students and gets them important safety information, because they tend to be the victims of a lot of crimes,” Gill said. “So, we came up with this idea because it allows the students to interact with BUPD in a really personal way.”
The safety awareness day activities were strategically placed in the GSU during lunchtime to maximize the number of students who would interact with officers.
Officers present were socializing with the students and handing out customized BUPD giveaways. Within the hour, all handouts that held information had been distributed from the BUPD table to the student population in the GSU.
