As the new school year gradually moves forward, students become more and more boggled down with class work and have less time for playing and games. More often than not, students as they get more comfortable on campus let their guards down slightly, a move that can ultimately harm them.
Safety on Prairie View’s campus is an issue rarely discussed, and students are more apt to forget basic safety rules when they get more intertwined in their surroundings.
Sergeant Noel Shelton of the Prairie View A&M University Police Department assures students that PV police are “patrolling parking lots to decrease burglary and letting people know they cannot loiter in the parking lots,” a way to decrease crime on PV’s campus. Shelton encourages students to “report suspicious conduct to the police as soon as possible,” and to be “as informative about clothing, conduct, why it’s suspicious, and physical descriptions.”
Already on Prairie View’s campus, there are programs available to aid individuals to be safe. Blue emergency boxes are placed sporadically to provide an aid to students who may need an escort service after dark, or to report suspicious behavior.
“There has been an increased use in the escort service, and more students are taking advantage,” said Shelton.
Students are encouraged to remember to be cautious of their surroundings, to use wise judgment and not set themselves up as prey. A major concern police have pertains to students taking care of their valuables.
Shelton’s advice to students is that anytime they go home they take their electronic valuables, including laptops, Xbox, PS2, because “most break-ins are done by people who know you have the item. So anything of value, take home.”
As students become more complacent and let their guard down, they could become victims of crime. Students are expected to know their surroundings, report any mischievous behavior and abide by all campus rules.