Residence Hall Safety Update
Dear Bison Community,
We want to thank our student body for its work in building our campus safety culture throughout this academic year. With just a few months to go before the close of this semester and our annual commencement exercises, we greatly appreciate the work of our campus leaders, organizational members, and advocates who promote best practices in safety and awareness.
Students sharing and following safety tips, using our free incident reporting technology in Bison SAFE and POM Devices, and maintaining student handbook rules have saved lives and reduced potential threats to people and property.
In this spirit of cooperation, we are writing to encourage more support for our guidelines on residence hall access, particularly for guests who are not registered students of the University. There has been an increase in students allowing guests to enter halls and rooms without proper check-in with residence life personnel, violating residence life policy and the student code of conduct. In some cases, these guests are also violating policy and committing crimes.
As we shared in a communication last September on building access issues, we remind all students of the mandatory guidelines for residential students and guests. Violators of these rules and all others under the purview of the residence hall agreements will be subject to review by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards . They could face disciplinary action ranging from a fine to permanent expulsion from housing.
• ID checks are mandatory at all residence halls.
• All residence halls have Front Desk Services 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. All students are expected to enter and exit through the front doors of the residence hall.
• If you see a student entering, exiting, propping, or providing access to unknown persons into the halls, immediately report them to your RA.
• If you see any unknown person entering the building, immediately alert the front desk staff.
Breaking housing rules creates stress on our public safety infrastructure and puts lives at risk. No one wants to be responsible for a crime committed by an associate or guest that could leave a fellow student or employee permanently traumatized by crime or violence. No one with good intentions wants to have the privileges of on-campus housing or enrollment at the university revoked for a preventable bad decision.
It takes a Bison to keep our entire community Bison SAFE. Please take your responsibility seriously to keep yourself and others free from the negative impacts of policy violations. We remind everyone of these important safety tips and encourage all community members to work towards a productive and safe conclusion of the academic year.
General Safety Tips:
• Avoid isolated and dark areas.
• Carry your mobile phone and keep it accessible.
• Do not use doors marked as fire exits, prop, or obstruct them for unauthorized access.
• If you are approached, take note of the person’s appearance, clothing, and anything that will help to identify the subject.
• Immediately report any suspicious activity or individuals to the Howard University Police Department at 202-806-1100. Program this number into your mobile phone for quick access.