Safety & Security

Swipe Card Access to Residence Halls

Each residence hall on campus is equipped with an electronic, computerized card the hours of operation, only residents of the building can gain access by swiping their card through the card reader on each building. The system is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Student Security Services Personnel

University Police hires students to monitor nighttime and early morning activities at certain doors, in certain residence halls. These security assistants in the Residence Hall Security Unit serve as rovers to check for propped doors, monitor activities in the commons building, and assist students who have questions or difficulties with the card access system. In general, they are on duty from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., during the weekdays and 24 hours on weekends, although shifts and locations vary from area to area on weekdays and weekends.

Residence Life Staff

Each residence hall is staffed by student Resident Assistants. Among other duties, they provide security for the halls. In addition to the student staff, there are full-time, live-in professionals in each area who both monitor the halls and respond to crisis situations as needed. Learn more about Residence Life staff here.

Fire Safety Procedures

Currently, each residence hall and apartment is equipped with a number of fire safety features including fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, and emergency exit signs. In addition, all of the residence halls and apartments are equipped with a fire suppression sprinkler system. Housing and Residence Life also conduct monthly fire drills in accordance with University Police. For the safety of all the residents, candles, halogen lamps, and exposed heating elements are not permitted in any residence hall environment. 

If you believe there is a fire in your living area please follow the guidelines below:

1. Feel your door to see if it is hot. If it's hot, do not open the door! Go to your window and make your presence known. If your door is warm, put weight against the door and open slowly. 
2. If it's safe to exit, evacuate your room or apartment.
3. If it is safe enough, knock on doors around you to alert those residents before leaving.
4. Calmly and quickly exit the building by the nearest exit.
5. Once outside, move away from the exit so that emergency crews can get into the building unimpeded.
6. Do not try to re-enter the building until told to do so by a proper authority.

What You Can Do

Our greatest ally in providing a safe and secure residence hall environment is our students. So it is important that each student takes the initiative to assist the residence life staff in creating a safe and secure hall for all the residents. Please keep the following tips in mind:

• Do not allow strangers to enter the residence hall with you. (No "piggybacking")
• Notify the staff member on duty if someone has insisted upon entering the hall with you. Observe the offender to get a good physical description and note the direction he or she is walking.
• Keep your room locked at all times - even when you're sleeping, and especially when you're gone.
• Report a malfunctioning card access reader or door immediately.
• Meet your guests/visitors at the lobby door.
• Never lend your id+ card or room key to others.
• Immediately report a lost or stolen id+ card.
• Report suspicious activity immediately.

University Police

Campus safety and security is a 24 hour, 7-day a week operation for the University Police. If you have an emergency or need to report a crime, call University Police at 814-836-1111 or call 911.  Visit the University Police website for more information. 

Escort Service

The University Police provide a free security escort service for students, faculty, and staff on and near campus. Auxiliary Police employees are available from dusk until dawn every day to escort students, faculty, or staff to buildings, parking lots, or residence halls. and requests can be made by calling 814-865-WALK (9255).

Emergency Phones on Campus

There are three types of emergency phones on campus. 

Emergency Phones

Easily recognized by their blue lights, emergency phones are located throughout campus. There is no dialing or number keypad.

Emergency/Pole Phones

Pole phones are the newest style of emergency phones and can be easily located by the blue lights above them. These phones have no receiver but instead, contain a built-in speaker.

Residence Hall Emergency/Courtesy Phones

These phones are identical in appearance to the "call boxes" described above, but do not have a blue light. These phones are located in the residence hall areas, usually near the entrances of a residence hall. These phones enable visitors to call a resident for an escort into the building when the residence hall is secured.