Office of the Registrar

From: Office of the Associate Vice President for Public Safety

Safety reminders and resources for the new academic year

OSU Community Members,

Welcome to the new academic year. We are excited to see so much activity and energy on Oregon State University’s Corvallis campus.

The safety of the OSU community is a top priority of the university and the Department of Public Safety. At OSU, public safety is a shared responsibility, and we ask for your collaboration.

Students, faculty and staff can contribute to their own and others’ safety by being aware of their surroundings and reporting suspicious behavior or the presence of unusual or suspicious items.

The Department of Public Safety is always available to help and respond to your needs. For non-emergency help, please call 541-737-3010. If it’s an emergency, call 541-737-7000 or 911. You may also visit the Department of Public Safety website to learn more about the Department of Public Safety, and to find information about safety-related topics.

If you do report a matter of concern, please focus on describing the behavior when identifying the suspicious activity. Be prepared to describe “Who, what, when, where and why.” For example: Share who you saw. Also share who else saw the incident you are reporting. What did you see? When did you see it? Where did you see it? Why did it appear suspicious or unusual to you?

To help in reporting an item considered suspicious, evaluate if the item is hidden, obviously suspicious and something not typically seen or used within a location. If you see or discover a suspicious item, do not touch it, tamper with it, or move it. Call 911 and report the item immediately.

Here are some additional free resources to help you this year:

·         OSU Assist provides mobile crisis response for mental health matters and other forms of distress. OSU Assist can be reached via Public Safety at 541-737-3010.

·         Counseling and Psychological Services offers students mental health support.

·         ASOSU SafeRide is a service providing OSU students alternative transportation services around campus and within Corvallis and the surrounding area from 8:30PM-1AM.

·         Guardian App is a service that allows you to text with OSU Police Dispatch and has the ability to create a Virtual Escort from your contacts.

·         The Mental Health and Emotional Support Resources for Employees provides access to resources for OSU employees.

These and more resources can be found at the OSU Experience Student Resources webpage.

To contribute to your safety and awareness, please verify your mobile phone number to receive text messages from OSU Alert, the university’s text and email alert service that provides time-sensitive information. Students may verify their mobile phone number by logging in to Beaver Hub, https://beaverhub.oregonstate.edu/login, and under Resources clicking on 'View/Update Address and Phone'. OSU only sends emergency text messages when an incident needs your immediate response. Other than an annual test, we will not send routine messages via text.

Thank you for your help in contributing to safety within the OSU community.

Sincerely,

Shanon Anderson, Associate Vice President for Public Safety/Chief of Police
Stephen Jenkins, Ed.D., Associate Vice Provost & Acting Dean of Students