One would imagine that the first thing high school students or transfers consider when looking for their dream university would be the quality of student life on or off campus. But safety on campus has become an even more important factor recently.
Personally, I wish campus safety were something I paid more attention to when I was applying to Cal Poly Pomona.
CPP offers multiple procedures in any emergency, but my concern lies in the protection of students.
Recently, walking around school does not feel safe. Fear often takes over whenever I am alone walking to and from class, even during the day.
When crime strikes, campuswide emails do not include much information. Uneasiness arises in the unknown.
Students should have the right to know what is going on with our campus community.
Not knowing details of an accident or crime leaves students worrisome and fearful as to what might have happened. Curiosity leads to imagining the worst possible scenarios and questioning the safety of Cal Poly Pomona.
Information needs to be provided in order for students to feel safe in their own school.
The CPP University Police Department has emergency blue light phones stationed around campus.
The stations are security phones used to call police from any various location on campus. The only problem with this feature is where they are located, which is the outskirts of campus. I rarely see an emergency blue light phone in the middle of campus, an area where students need it the most.
For example, University Park can be the darkest and scariest area throughout campus at night, but there are no emergency blue light phones in sight.
It can be creepy and dark in University Park at night and an emergency blue light phone would be appreciated.
The emergency blue lights are an essential tool for students to have in case any danger were to occur with no officers present.
The lack of these phones in the middle of campus is inexcusable.
I appreciate the police on campus and their presence. But there is a lack of easy accessibility to peace of mind and openness of information. This leads to fear.
Imagine holding onto your keys in between your knuckles when you walk on campus at night with your heart beating rapidly.
Imagine walking faster down the stairs or down the hallway in fear because you hear someone behind you.
Imagine wondering how to further secure your dorm from being broken into.
Well, I do not have to imagine these things.
I endure them every day, and I’m sure many CPP students do too.
As a concerned student, I just want to feel safe and have peace of mind knowing the police and campus security have every option imaginable for students.