Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Headlines

One of the safety precautions public safety has taken is placing wolf prints on the sidewalk to signify safe places to walk on campus.

With the holiday season upon us, public safety would like to remind students to be extra careful. This time of year not only means celebrations and festivities in Oregon, but also inclement weather and dangerous driving conditions.

While traffic safety may be nothing new to the majority of students there are always drivers on the road who refuse to follow simple traffic rules. According to Director of Public Safety Jay Carey, "Most of it is common sense: slow down when it is raining out by going lower than the speed limit, stay with the flow of traffic, keep your distance behind the car in front of you and be patient. By doing these things you can keep control of your car in harsh weather; when you lose traction by speeding or driving carelessly in wet weather you can lose control of your car."

This is of special importance during this time of year not only because the weather makes driving conditions more hazardous, but also because many students will be heading to various locations to celebrate the holidays. Carey would also like to remind students of another piece of common sense that is broken more often than it should be: never drink and drive.

The level of crime at Western is relatively low. In the last few years sexual offenses and assaults have been in the single digits. Western however does have a larger number of offenses when it comes to petty theft and alcohol/drug offenses. During finals week the rate of student's belongings being stolen goes up. "During finals week students go to the library and spend many long hours studying. Over this time they may get up to go to the bathroom or go grab a book for further studying and too often they leave their belongings unattended while they do this. Over the past couple of years we have had laptops, ipods and cell phones that have been stolen. They need to make sure they have an eye on their property," said Carey. Over 70% of the crimes that occur on campus are preventable, students just need to be careful.

Carey suggested that a good way of ensuring that this doesn't happen would be to go to the library with a study buddy. Even if students are quietly studying alone the other person can keep an eye on the other student's belongings. Because students often study late into the night before finals, he also recommended that a study buddy would be helpful so you would have someone to walk home with.

Public safety wants students to know that the best way to prevent negative things happening to them is to be aware of what they can do to make themselves safer and more secure. It all boils down to common sense and consciously thinking about what is going on around us. Be careful, and be sure to take precautions, especially on the road during the holiday season.•

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