UI Public Safety campaign invites students to play active role in campus safety
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Written by: Hayley Bruce

Be part of the solution.

That’s the main tenet of #HawkeyeSafe, a new public-awareness campaign that encourages students to play an active role in campus safety by taking advantage of tools offered by the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety.

“The idea is to inspire the campus community to take preventative measures to enhance their personal safety while also encouraging students to invest time in looking out for one another,” says Scott Beckner, assistant vice president and director of the UI Department of Public Safety. “We know that safety and preparedness have to be a community effort, and we are hoping #HawkeyeSafe will help spread the word about the services we offer and continue to open the line of communication between police and students.”

Using the hashtag #HawkeyeSafe, the department plans to share information about its safety tools throughout the semester. The hashtag also will be used to spread the word about community events planned by the department during which students will have a chance to have conversations and build relationships with officers while participating in activities they both enjoy. It is another layer of the department’s community-policing philosophy introduced last fall.

Want to be #HawkeyeSafe?

The UI Department of Public Safety offers:

  • Rave Guardian (Hawk Watch) app. Rave Guardian is a free mobile application that allows students to select a virtual guardian to escort them during their walk home, send anonymous crime tips to the department via text message, and call the UI Police Department with a panic button. Simply sign up using your UI email address to gain access to campus-specific features.
     
  • Nite Ride. Nite Ride is a free late-night transportation service for people of all genders. This service, which operates from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, is powered by a ride request application, which allows students to arrange a ride from their cell phone or desktop computer. 
     
  • Violent Incident Survival Training. The goal of this training is to mentally prepare you to recognize, assess, and respond to threats of violence you might one day face. Violent Incident Survival Training is based on a flexible set of principles—“Run, Hide, Fight,”—that can be adapted to any violent situation.
     
  • Better Men. Better Hawkeyes. Better Men. Better Hawkeyes. is a free, one-hour program dedicated to promoting healthy masculinity across campus, specifically engaging groups of students who identify as men in places where they commonly come together. The program intends to address sexual violence by fostering large and small group discussions about gender stereotypes and sexual consent among peers.
     
  • Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.). R.A.D. is a personal safety education course that embodies a practical blend of threat avoidance strategies and real-world assault resistance. The goal of this 12-hour course (completed over three sessions) is to improve self-awareness and gain confidence and knowledge in threatening situations. Curriculum includes basic self-defense techniques and simulations.
     
  • SHOUT. The SHOUT (Students Helping OUT) program provides trained student ambassadors to patrol during student-sponsored events, student gatherings, and in downtown Iowa City during high traffic, weekend hours with a focus on bystander intervention and overall safety. This program is focused on community service as opposed to law enforcement and compliance, and aims to create an opportunity for students to play an active role in making their campus safe by serving as ambassadors to their peers. The SHOUT program will assist with requests such as helping arrange safe transportation, helping students who become separated from their group, and providing public education about the Rave Guardian app and other safety services.
     
  • Threat Assessment and Care Team. The Threat Assessment and Care team is dedicated to the early identification, assessment, and management of incidents and behaviors that threaten the safety and well-being of the university community. The intent of the program is to protect the safety of individuals and their co-workers or classmates by connecting them with appropriate resources when they are identified as displaying warning signs.
     
  • Lunch with a Cop. Throughout the semester, the UI Department of Public Safety will invite students to join officers for meals in the residence halls, during which they can discuss issues and learn more about each other.