Trouble? Call 1000

Kristin Adams
Staff Writer

Hard to find — To find campus safety off UAM's home page, start at campus information, click on Finance and Administration under the "Places at UAM" subcategory, then hit the Public Safety link to access the site at http://www.uamont.edu/FinanceAdministration/PublicSafety/PublicSafe.htm in three clicks.

   Residents on college campuses can be targets for harassment, date rape and other possibly violent situations. Although reports of these crimes on the University of Arkansas Monticello campus are minimal, they do happen.

   Some residents may be unsure of what to do in case of an emergency. John Kidwell, the director of Public Safety and police chief on campus, said students need to become familiar with Public Safety’s Web site.

   “The Department of Public Safety is under the Finance and Administration on campus. Our Web site is located somewhere under that link,” Kidwell said. “I hate that our Web site is not easily found. I would like to correct that.”

   Kidwell said a new Web site is in the works and will hopefully be up soon.

   “I wouldn’t know what to do if I had an emergency,” said Bridget Austin, a campus resident. “I would have to go down the hallway and find someone who knew what to do. That would just waste time. You’d think they would have the emergency numbers posted on the wall by the telephone in every room.”

   In an emergency, Kidwell encourages residents to dial 1000. This campus emergency number transfers to a campus police officer’s cell phone and they can reach the troubled resident sooner than if they call 911. In an extreme situation, students may need to leave.

   “If you have a guest who won’t leave and you are concerned, then you leave. There is nothing in there worth you being hurt,” Kidwell said. “It’s not that bad here. We don’t have a lot of crime.”

   UAM women historically refuse to report rape. This troubles Kidwell as well as others on campus. Students cannot find out any information about the Rape Crisis Counselor on the UAM Web site. Kidwell said the counselor will go to the dorms, talk with girls about rape and other physical abuse, give them a card and tell them to call anytime. However, some residents may miss the dorm meeting.

   “It’s scary to think that if a student was raped then they wouldn’t know who to talk to,” Austin said. “A rape victim wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to just anybody.”

      Student Health Services director Terri Richardson said certain procedures are followed when students report rape, including completing a rape kit and counseling the victim. If the rape happened on campus, then public safety will be involved. Richardson's contact information can be found at http://www.uamont.edu/StudentAffairs/HealthServices/, along with other links such as an alcohol test, eating disorders info center, and a news and events tab.

    Counseling and Testing Services director Laura Hughes said reports of rape remain confidential. Counseling services usually refer victims to a non-campus rape crisis counsel. Also, counseling services tries to help the victim with any further assistance they may need by making periodic checkups to make sure everything is going OK for the student.

Have a comment? Please e-mail us.