Creating a safe campus community
is a shared responsibility
On January 10 , Vice-President (Resources & Operations) Gitta Kulczycki hosted a special Leaders’ Forum at Saugeen-Maitland Hall focused on the issue of campus safety.
The overarching message delivered during this Forum was that creating a safety-oriented culture is something for which all members of our campus community – faculty, staff and students alike – bear some responsibility. The Forum was also designed to put more resources in the hands of campus leaders to help share the important message that everyone has a role to play.
The Forum was part of a broader Safe Campus Community initiative being led by our Director of Campus Police, Elgin Austen. As Elgin explains, the early identification of volatile actions – and proper intervention – is the key to preventing unacceptable behaviour from escalating into violence.
There are several resources available online that highlight what you can do to help contribute to a safe community at Western, including:
- Safe Campus Community resource page (linked to Campus Police)
- Safe Campus Violence Continuum for information on ways to identify and prevent violence from occurring and how to effectively respond
- January 10 issue of Western News, with special feature on Safe Campus Community initiative
