UNM-Gallup to host Campus Safety Week in September

Gallup, N.M. - The University of New Mexico-Gallup hosts a week of activities in September in observance of National Campus Safety Awareness Month to focus on making the branch campus a safer and healthier place.

UNM-Gallup's Campus Safety Week is scheduled Monday-Friday, Sept. 16-20. Events throughout the week are designed to bring more awareness and education to safety- and security-related topics that affect UNM-Gallup students, faculty, staff, and the larger community that UNM-Gallup is a part of.

"It's an effort to have open discussions and educate our campus community about safety procedures and protocols while also creating an opportunity or forum to voice any concerns or share any information," UNM-Gallup Student Affairs director Jayme McMahon said.

This is the second annual Campus Safety Week at UNM-Gallup. It is organized by the Safety Week Subcommittee, which operates under the UNM-Gallup Safety Committee.

The agenda for the week includes a Campus Safety Fair on Thursday, Sept. 19, which will feature organizations from the Gallup-McKinley County community doing outreach about their services and resources.

Organizations with a mission related to safety, health and security are invited to register for a booth in the Campus Safety Fair. Interested organizations should contact Sr. Public Relations Specialist Richard Reyes at 505-863-7542 or [email protected].

"It's a great opportunity to bring the Gallup community together to revisit the safety concerns for UNM-Gallup specifically and to start that conversation," UNM-Gallup emergency medical services instructor Jacob LaCroix said.

Another highlight of the week is the Campus Safety Walk. Members of the UNM-Gallup community are invited to go on a group walk around the campus to identify safety issues or concerns, such as the need for better lighting or pruning.

The Campus Safety Walk is a great opportunity for participants to get some steps in after dark with other Lobos while providing valuable input.

"We want our campus to be a safe, healthy space where people belong and feel like they belong," McMahon said. "We want our students and employees to flourish, so we need to ensure we're providing a safe environment for them to do so."

Other events throughout the week include:

• A meet and greet plus forum with first responders from the community.
• Training on personal safety, hands only CPR, and how to use Narcan in the case of an overdose.
• Important meetings and training opportunities for campus building coordinators.

The meet and greet will be similar to a Coffee with a Cop event where students, faculty and staff will get the chance to connect with UNM-Gallup's Campus Police officers and other officers from local police agencies.

"We have Coffee with a Cop so people just don't see them as a uniform," UNM-Gallup Campus Police Sgt. Richard Perez said. "People can actually go and talk to them and ask questions and see that all the officers are humans too. A lot of victims are afraid to report things. If they get to know the officers as people, it's easier for them to speak up."

To see the full agenda, visit Campus Safety Week.