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From: Public Safety

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. If you see something, say something.

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 web page 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 and describing suspicious activity. Be prepared to describe “Who, what, when, where and why.” For example: Share who you saw. (And 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 resources to help you this year:

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

·       Counseling and Psychological Services offers students mental health support.

·       ASOSU SafeRide is a free service providing OSU students alternative transportation services around campus and within Corvallis and the surrounding area.

·       Guardian App, new this year, is a free service that provides one-button emergency calling and the ability to create a Virtual Escort from your contacts.

·       Beyond Benefits Employee Assistance Program provides resources for OSU employees, including mental health support.

To contribute to your safety and awareness, please sign up for OSU Alert, the university’s text and email alert service that provides time-sensitive information. We encourage you to add a mobile phone number that receives text messages so you can get an urgent message if an incident is under way. If asked for an institution after logging in with your ONID account, please type in “Oregon State University.”

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

Shanon Anderson, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and OSU Chief of Police

Kevin Dougherty, Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

Send Date: 
Wednesday, September 21, 2022