Campus Safety:
A Letter from the President
Monmouth University Police:
732-571-4444
Counseling and Psychological Services: 732-571-7517
The Office of the Vice President for Student Services: 732-571-3417
Employee Assistance Program:
1-800-865-3200
In recent years, tragic incidents at other colleges and universities have put campus safety in the forefront of our thinking. Many of you have heard from me about several safety precautions Monmouth University takes and would take in the future to safeguard our community in a whole range of safety and security situations from dangerous weather, to alcohol abuse, to crime.
I believe that students who practice “peer responsibility”—who are aware of others and watch out for their peers, classmates, teammates, fellow club members, fellow Greeks, roommates, and others—are in the very best position to identify potentially dangerous situations and help their fellow students who appear to be in trouble. Taking responsibility for one’s peers is a positive individual trait and, when exercised collectively within a community, results in a successful society. I hope you will help me propagate this theme.
The University continues to be ever more vigilant in identifying and preparing for how to cope with potentially unsafe situations. I have provided a list of safety initiative highlights that we have taken to best manage safety risks.
One of those safety risks is illegal and/or dangerous use of alcohol. Just as I believe that “peer responsibility” is the biggest deterrent to unsafe practices, I believe that illegal or dangerous alcohol use is the most severe safety challenge facing any academic community in America today.
The safety initiatives we have taken can be summarized by these points:
- We want students to embrace the concept of “peer responsibility.”
- We are serious about deterring illegal alcohol use, educating people about its abuse, and involving parents when a student finds himself or herself in trouble with alcohol.
- We are serious about fire, smoke, and carbon monoxide safety.
- We want students to sign up for Blackboard-Connect, a communications system that helps us connect to them instantly should there be an emergency.
- We have a full-time, professional, trained, armed, and commissioned police force; not a security patrol.
- We have professionals in psychological services, substance awareness, the student health clinic, counseling, police, residence life, and other student services who are here to help students who have concerns about self or others.
This is a sobering message. Unsafe situations are rare. Positive, spirited, life-fulfilling situations are the norm on every campus. Here at Monmouth we are incredibly fortunate to have a student population that is energetic, confident, optimistic, and ready to grab life’s opportunities. I see Monmouth students, who happily I am around every day, going forth to lead America. That gives me confidence in our future.
If you are a student, thank you for your continued effort to keep our campus safe. If you are a parent, be proud of the young men and women you have sent to us.
Go Hawks!
Paul G. Gaffney II
President
