With the fall semester in full swing, staying safe on campus is extremely important – follow these simple tips to stay Spartan Safe at UNCG.

WATCHING YOUR WALK

When walking around campus (and around Greensboro) – make sure you are staying aware of your surroundings. Use designated crosswalks and look up from your mobile device when crossing the street. When you are at a crosswalk with a pedestrian call button, press it. Do not cross until you are given the okay and drivers are aware you are crossing the street.

SECURE YOUR STUFF

After you park on campus, lock your car, and make sure your valuables are not visible. A good rule of thumb is to put the valuables in the trunk.

If you want extra protection for your possessions, UNCG Police can provide an official marking for textbooks and other items in the event that they are stolen, and someone attempts to resell them.

Read More at https://www.uncg.edu/news/simple-spartan-safe-tips-the-fall-semester/

UNC Greensboro Police’s Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) class seems straight forward from the name, but instructor Kristi Reese ‘06 says it’s more than what it seems.

“It’s learning what you can do with your personal weapons, with your body,” says Reese, who is also an ITS Analyst for UNCG Public Safety and Police. “Not being able to or not having to depend on somebody, or something else, to help protect you in a time of need.”

RISK-REDUCTION

R.A.D. is a 12-hour class taught over three to four nights. Participants first go through the basics class, and once they finish, they can move to the longer advanced course.

Ninety percent of self defense education is knowing the four “risks” of personal safety, including risk reduction strategies, like paying attention to exits and what to do when you’re in a specific area like an elevator. The course also includes physical training, such as blocking, knee strikes, and getting out of different chokes.

The class also teaches compliance. Reese says sometimes compliance with an attacker may be the only option, so understanding what to do in that situation is important.

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The safety and well-being of our Spartans and visitors is a top priority of UNCG, and maintaining a safe campus is everyone’s responsibility. That’s why we are enhancing our public safety technologies – putting innovative safety tools right in the palm of your hand.

UNCG announces the launch of the new Spartan Safe App. The Spartan Safe App will replace the LiveSafe app, which will be discontinued on May 8. The Spartan Safe App provides many new and improved safety tools and features in a user-friendly digital environment.

Through the Spartan Safe App, you have quick access to:

• Friend Walk: The Friend Walk feature allows you to share your location with a family member or friend so they can remotely monitor your location while you walk to your destination and ensure you arrive safely. No need to walk alone!
• Mobile BlueLight: When you activate the Mobile BlueLight emergency feature on campus, it shares your location with a UNCG Police dispatcher and then prompts you to call to UNCG Police. No longer is the call for help tied to a physical bluelight location. If you need help, you can call from wherever you are on campus.
• Report a Tip: Have something to report? This feature provides you with several options to contact UNCG Police – including options to remain anonymous.
• Take Action Guides: What do you do in an emergency? The Spartan Safe App has you covered. Check out the guides and tips on what to do so you can be prepared before an emergency occurs.

To accompany the Spartan Safe App, we have created the Spartan Safe website that provides additional safety information and emergency alert messages. The Spartan Safe website will serve as a one-stop-shop for safety information and will replace the Spartan Alert website.

 On campus, you will see approximately 50 Blue Light towers being converted into Spartan Safe stanchions. These stanchions will have security cameras and a QR code to make a direct call to UNCG Police from your smart phone. The remaining towers will be decommissioned and removed during the summer.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Please download the Spartan Safe App by visiting the Google Play or Apple App Store today and do your part to keep everyone Spartan Safe.

When you see a smiling dog wagging its tail, you usually also smile or maybe even give them a hug. At UNCG, the dog will hug you right back.

Odin, UNCG Police’s two-year-old Belgian Tervuren comfort dog, helps students through the stressors of college. 

“Other law enforcement agencies have found tremendous success through comfort dogs, especially with outreach to the community and also helping those in need that are going through stressful times,” says Officer Zachary Lynch, a community resource officer and Odin’s handler. 

A COMFORT CANINE

With his big, fluffy coat, pointy nose and “Best Friend” harness, Odin is all about getting attention. Officer Lynch walks Odin around the university so students have the chance to meet him. 

“A lot of people love dogs when they’re stressed, especially one as goofy as Odin,” Lynch says 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Odin may be all about fun and furry comfort, but his counterpart Felix has to get down to business. 

Felix is a dual-purpose patrol dog that helps UNCG Police and the entire community with a variety of safety needs.

“His job can be busy at times,” says Officer Maddie Austin, Felix’s handler. “We try to stay on our toes and be proactive as much as we can.”

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Each year, campus tours bring in the next fresh faces of UNCG and their folks. Since students usually keep a poker face, the oohs and aahs of parents become a primary measure of a college’s reputation. 

“Students tend to ask questions that revolve around things to do on campus and Greensboro life,” says sophomore Hailey Todd, a UNCG campus tour guide since spring 2022. ”Parents ask questions centered around safety and logistics.” 

With campus safety at the top of the list, here are five campus features that future Spartan parents are bragging about this year. 

1. “SAFETY IS A PRIORITY.”

Parents love that UNCG takes a multi-level approach to keeping its students safe by channeling technology and practical answers to student safety. The campus has its own police station perfectly located across from the Kaplan Wellness Center and residence halls cannot be entered without a Spartan card. 

Spartan Alerts quickly communicate danger on campus and apps connect students to safety measures through their phones. On May 8, 2023 UNCG’s LiveSafe app will be replaced with Spartan Safe. This new app has improved digital features like Friend Walk which shares student location with friends and family members and Mobile Blue Light which immediately connects students with the police in case of emergency. These safety measures give families a sense of security as teenagers embark on independent living on a college campus.

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1. “The Counseling Center is full.”   In fact, the model of the Counseling Center is completely built around access.   To that end, there is a walk in counselor available every day and on-call services available 24/7.  While students are not typically seen weekly, they will receive support, assessment, referral either to individual counseling here (usually on a biweekly or triweekly basis), referral to therapy or support groups, referral to our workshops, referral to off-campus providers who can offer specialty care on a weekly basis or sometimes to our partner training clinics–the Vacc Clinic or the Psychology Clinic. We currently even have a grant to financially support students who may need off-campus care. Finally, like walk-in same day services, Counseling Center workshops provide students with weekly open access services focused on some of their most pressing concerns, such as stress and anxiety.  
2. “The Counseling Center does not provide services in the summer.” We are open and offer services all summer for enrolled students or grad students engaged in research activities.  Toward the end of the semester, we offer all same-day or next day services and are focused on assessment and workshops since we would not have an adequate window to start counseling with students who are leaving in a couple of weeks.  Students continuing at school during the summer would be able to start and continue services.  
3. “You need insurance to access the Counseling Center.”  Our counseling services are free of charge.  There is insurance billing for psychiatric medication prescribing and management.  Student Blue covers this so that students have no copayment.
4. “You can’t transfer counselors at the Counseling Center.”  It is not uncommon for a student to transfer to a different counselor upon request.   The CC recognizes that our staff may not comprehensively reflect the diversity of our student body: however, we aspire to create a safe, affirming, inclusive and welcoming environment for all students and the larger campus community.  Often a student may be able to find a better match than the first person they see.  Please let students know that it is ok to talk to their current counselor about seeing someone new or if they are not comfortable with that, to call our front desk who will refer to the person on staff who can help with a transfer.  It may help them to visit the “Meet Our Staff” (https://shs.uncg.edu/cc/staff) page to read our bios and see if they feel a particular person may be a good fit.   

The UNCG Police Department is partnering with American Red Cross to help meet an extraordinary need for hospitals and patients but we can’t do it alone.