College hosts Campus Safety Day, Sept.17

In furthering our mission to “protect and serve” the SUNY New Paltz University Police Department (UPD), in conjunction with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, held the first-ever Campus Safety Day on Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Old Main Quad.

The day provided opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to learn about various safety services and protocols on campus. Participants of Campus Safety Day included UPD, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, the Health and Counseling Center, the New Paltz Rescue Squad, the Department of Residence Life, and more.

“We want to bring awareness of new ways to improve safety on campus,” said University Police Chief David Dugatkin, who referred to the recently launched campus safety mobile app as a tool promoting a safe campus environment.

“We simulated a residence hall fire on the quad filled with decorations, a bed, a TV, and more to show the major risks of not following our safety code,” said Dugatkin. “Students should want to better their awareness and safety. If students learned from the many organizations that were present today, then we’ve accomplished our goal.”

According to Dugatkin, the effort is part of a larger goal to form a SUNY New Paltz Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which would help the college community in times of emergencies and natural disasters. CERT members would be trained in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

For more information, please visit http://www.newpaltz.edu/police/ or call University Police at (845) 257-2222 with any questions.