DOS Elmore, BUPD Chief stress safety at Union meeting

The number one way to ensure student safety is by being cautious at all times, speakers and students said at Boston University’s Student Union Senate meeting on Tuesday.

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and BU Police Department Chief Scott Pare addressed Union about safety concerns that have plagued students on and near campus since the beginning of the academic year.

“The most important thing we do around here is consider your personal safety,” Elmore said. “I know it’s not a perfect system and we can’t have everyone have a personal body guard. . . but I think it’s something the community needs to be aware of.”

He emphasized the need for student accountability in order to strike a balance between having adequate police security on campus without overwhelming the student body.

“While we want a police presence, I’m sure you all don’t want to walk around and have police officers everywhere. . . [we don’t want to] unintentionally scare people and make you feel like you’re walled up in your own room,” he said.

Pare said the primary safety concern that “keeps [him] up at night” is the “skyrocketing” rate of alcohol transports.

“I don’t know what the issue is, if it’s binge drinking or more partying, but there’s a higher and higher potential for something serious to go wrong. . . there are kids passed out on sidewalks, in alleys,” he said.

Pare then described an event when the police found a young lady passed out by a gas station, totally incapacitated.

“Somebody had brought roofies to a party, she and her friends had taken them. . . if you go to a party and if you happen to drink, don’t accept anything from someone else, you have no idea what’s in that cup,” he said. “You want to stay safe.”

Along with promoting their well-being, Pare advised students to avoid binge drinking in order to keep a clean slate.

“We have good kids, straight-A students, overdrinking and doing the stupidest thing in the world. . .If you do something serious, like a felony, that goes on your record,” he said. “And that doesn’t leave your record. It stays with you. You have to keep that in mind.”

In addition to alcohol transports, Pare said bike theft was an important concern.

“In the month of September, we had a huge [bike theft] spike,” he said. “It’s scattered, all over campus. What we have seen is cable locks, chain locks…that are cut very easily.”

He urged students to be on the lookout for bike thieves and report any sign of suspicious activity.

“What I’m asking is we get the word out,” he said. “We [BUPD] can’t be everywhere, we’re asking you to be our eyes and ears. If you see something, call or text us. Once these criminals know they’re being reported, they’re done. I guarantee once they know that students are looking out, they know they’re in trouble.”

Elmore urged students to make use of the 112 blue box phones stationed around campus.

“Drop the word emergency,” he said. “They’re there for your use.”

In addition to the safety discussion, Union Executive Vice President and College of Arts and Sciences senior Daniel Ellis presented a proposal to distribute Union T-shirts around campus in order to advertise the organization.

Ellis also introduced an outreach project aimed at uncovering students’ concerns at BU.

“We all have our ideas of what frustrates students, but let’s find out. . .survey the students get some good, hard data,” he told Union senators.

School of Management sophomore and Myles Standish Hall senator Lauren Fragoza said she thought the safety discussion was informative.

“I think it was really great they [Elmore and Pare] wanted to come and talk to us and make sure we’re all informed,” she said. “I thought it was interesting how easily people can steal bikes.”

“It’s good [Elmore and Pare] are communicating directly with students,” added CAS junior Amanda Peterson. “I hope it’ll happen this year that they talk each month so that connection stays. It’s good when you can discuss directly with administrators.”