Campus Emergency Alert Systems

Now that severe weather season is brewing again here in the midwest, I'd like to emphasize the importance of campus emergency alert systems and communicating with your child during an emergency.

Most campuses have emergency notification systems in place. Make sure your child signs up for the text, email or phone call notifications available through this system. Unless it is specified, parents should not sign up under their own phone numbers. It does no good for you to receive a text at midnight about a campus emergency while your student remains ignorant of the situation. These systems send thousands of texts or emails at once, so adding numbers or email addresses slows the system to a crawl and may delay notification to students on campus when they need it the most.

Discuss with your child how you will communicate with them during an emergency. Land and cell phones aren’t always the best way to stay in touch, so it can be helpful for your child to quickly post information about his location and status to social media. Here in tornado alley, it is common for people to post the location of where they are sheltering to social media as they reach shelter. At the very least, you will know that they are aware of the danger around them and have taken the necessary precautions.

It's Not Too Early to Talk About Spring Break- Part 2

Have a frank discussion about safety - Spring break should be fun, but that doesn't mean students can let their guards down.  Students may not respond well to parental lectures about safety, so instead you may ask them scenario specific questions such as "What is your plan if someone in your group drinks too much? What would you do if you are separated from your group or your money is lost or stolen?" Questions like these are not lectures, but are simply opportunities for students to consider problems before they occur. 

Discuss your communication expectations for spring break - Students may not return calls or texts while on break, but they will usually post to social media. If you expect your student to reply to your calls or messages within a certain period of time, say, 24 hours, be sure to tell them your expectations in advance. Otherwise, let them know that you'll be checking in with them through social media instead. 

It's Not Too Early to Talk About Spring Break - Part 1

Contrary to popular belief, many students just go home, stay on campus, or take a long weekend instead of a full-blown beach or ski vacation for spring break. If your child is travelling with friends however, it's vital that you have a detailed discussion about your expectations during spring break.

Spring Break Tips for students - Part 1

Be Prepared - Remember the Boy Scout motto and plan ahead for the unexpected. A stocked first aid kit and road emergency kit are always helpful to have and keeping them in one's vehicle is a good habit to establish. Kits can be assembled from items on hand or purchased complete. If traveling to remote locations, extra blankets, an emergency hammer, water and food are good to have in the vehicle as well.

Write an itinerary - Even with everyone carrying a cell phone these days, asking your student to send you an itinerary can help you know approximately where they will be and when. It can also help your student plan their trip. Most students have never planned a lengthy trip by themselves, so creating an itinerary for you can actually help them see where they may be short on time or need an extra stop. If they're hiking or camping remind them that it is sometimes required, but always a good idea, to sign in with park staff before they hit the trail.

Have a plan "B" - The itinerary will help your student plan for the obvious, but what about those hiccups that invariably happen along the way while on a trip? This is a good time to ask your student about their Plan B and offer some advice on how to handle emergencies. Is the spare tire inflated? Do they have extra cash or travelers checks? Do they know that they can still call collect from a land line phone? (Try 1-800-CALL-ATT or a similar service.) If you belong to a motor club or have access to roadside assistance, this is a great time to remind your student about the benefits of your plan.

Hazing

We’ve all heard of terrible hazing incidents related to Greek letter organizations, sports teams, bands, and other groups, but while it is easy to identify extreme cases of hazing, many cases fall into a grey area. It can become a problem in any organization because when you have a large group of mostly young people who are trying to find an identity and fit into a group, you always have the potential for hazing. This definition from the hazing prevention organization, Hazingprevention.org sums it up.

From http://Hazingprevention.org

Hazing is an action taken or situation created intentionally: that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule, risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person's willingness to participate

Still confused? Ask yourself these questions:

Would I feel comfortable participating in this activity if my parents were watching?

Would we get in trouble if the Dean of Students walked by?

Am I being asked to keep these activities a secret?

Am I doing anything illegal?

Does participation violate my values or those of my organization

Is it causing emotional distress or stress of any kind to myself or others?

If someone were injured, would I feel comfortable being investigated by the insurance carrier?

When I apply for jobs, can I take the onus of having a criminal arrest on my record?

Hazing can include seemingly harmless acts like scavenger hunts or requiring new members’ participation in an activity not expected of full members. It’s not necessarily what is being asked or required of the new member, but the fact that the person is being forced, pressured, or required to do it upon threat of not being admitted to the group. At their core, acts of hazing are not harmless or good-spirited. They are acts committed by a need to control, intimidate, and degrade.

Acts such as; forcing someone to eat or drink anything against his will, having members perform a line-up, the use of alcohol in an activity involving new members, implied or actual paddling or striking, sleep deprivation, requiring members to wear unusual or conspicuous attire, yelling at or berating members, requiring silence for extended periods of time are all considered hazing.  
All states have laws against hazing, but every college should also present information about how to recognize and prevent hazing during information sessions or in publications. If this information is not readily available, ask to see it or the college’s hazing policy in the catalog, code of conduct, or student’s rights and responsibility document.  Hazing is a serious matter that requires attention and open, honest discussion, so it’s generally considered a red flag if the topic is glossed over or simply ignored by campus administration. 

Safety Basics for College Students

Stay Sober - Students can certainly go out for a good time once in a while, but getting intoxicated on alcohol or drugs is a sure way to become vulnerable. I’ll cover this topic in other posts, but the best way for your child to stay out of trouble is to stay sober, and avoid using alcohol or drugs.

Be Aware and Trust Your Instincts - It may take some time for students to settle in to their new surroundings, but almost everyone knows what suspicious or dangerous activities look like. When a couple of guys start shouting and shoving each other at a party, a fight’s about to break out, so it’s time to leave. When someone is walking through the parking lot at dusk checking every car door to see if it’s locked, call the police. When a friend is intoxicated to the point where she can’t stand on her own, it’s time to take her to a hospital.

Be Prepared - Does your child know how to report a crime in progress or suspicious activity? If not, let him know that there’s no mystery to it. Any 911 dispatcher will ask him everything he needs to know when he calls, but it is always a good idea to look around for addresses, street or building names, and landmarks.

Lock Doors - I really can’t emphasize this enough. Considering that larceny is the number one reported crime on college campuses, locking doors should be considered mandatory. Larceny, or stealing unsecured items, is a crime of opportunity and it can be prevented by locking room and car doors and by keeping backpacks, wallets, and purses with you at all times. Locking doors is also just a good habit to start before you go out into the world. Oh, did I mention, lock your doors!

Use the buddy system - College is a great place to make friends so there’s no excuse for students not using the buddy system wherever they go. Employing the buddy system is especially important for times when students will be out at night or at parties where alcohol is being consumed. Or, better yet, tell your child about using the Buddy, Buddy, Buddy system. 1. Go out with your buddy, 2. Stay with your buddy, 3. Go home with your buddy.

Use ICE – Having your child enter or update his “In Case of Emergency” or ICE contact in his cell phone will allow emergency personnel to contact you or a local emergency contact person if needed. 

What to Expect from Orientation

Information sessions - These are held by various offices or departments on campus and are meant to introduce you and your student to the resources and services that these departments offer. For example, the university health clinic representative may tell you that they offer pharmacy services for less that your current pharmacy co-pay or the parking enforcement office may offer ways for parents to get free on-campus parking in certain lots when you visit.  There are often so many services available that students and parents don’t utilize because they missed hearing about them in orientation, or didn’t read through the handbooks or online guides. Don’t let this happen to you. Attend all the session you can, keep the handbooks you receive, and become familiar with the college’s website search feature.

Tours - Even if you participated in campus tours when your child was choosing a college, they take on a new feel as you realize that this place will be your child’s new home within a month or two. Tours during orientation are usually more specific and highlight the day-to-day routine of a typical student.

Instead of showing off the new labs or the remodeled residence hall, orientation tour guides may be able to show the student the exact buildings, dorm rooms, and classrooms they will be in on a regular basis. Chances are that your child, being a freshman, will not be able to live in the deluxe new residence halls or use the new labs that mostly juniors and seniors will access.

Some students are disappointed that they did not get their first choice residence hall or that they will be living farther away from the cafeteria than they originally thought. Remind him that he will be there for four years and by the end of his freshman year he will know where almost everything is and where he wants to live the following year.

Explanation of costs, bills and due dates - Even though the responsibility for paying tuition, fees and other expenses is technically your student’s we understand that it is virtually impossible for an 18-year-old pay for college entirely by himself. Even students who have multiple scholarships and part time jobs will need help from you once in a while, so while we may emphasize that the bills will be sent to your child, we will also tell you everything you need to know to make sure he or she doesn’t miss a deadline or end up without a meal plan due to an unpaid bill.

Campus involvement - Orientation programs often invite a number of people to talk with your student about campus involvement. Sometimes these sessions take the form of an activities showcase where a broad range of campus groups set up tables or displays that allow current members of these groups to interact with you and your child or pass out information about their organization. Other times a few offices will talk specifically about the multitude of ways to get involved and then show students how to find clubs to join and what to expect from those clubs.  Either way the goal is the same. To let new students know that college is more than just class time, and being happy and healthy on campus means being involved outside of class.

Safety and emergency information -This is one of the sessions that is often held jointly with parents and students. We know that you are concerned about your child’s safety and even if your child doesn’t tell you, he is too, even if its just because he doesn’t want you to freak out. Campus Safety is vital to the academic mission of the university, because it is extremely difficult to learn in an environment in which you don’t feel safe.

Campus police or security will often give students details about how to stay safe on campus and what to do in an emergency. Advice like locking doors, being aware of one’s surroundings, and securing property are all common tips provided by campus police, and it’s important for students to realize that their actions can play a major role in their own safety. Having this session with parents and students together assures you that your child has received this information as well.

Enrollment - The vast majority of summer orientation programs also include the student’s enrollment in his first semester of classes. These enrollment sessions are usually held for the students alone so they can sit down with an advisor, counselor or peer mentor to select classes and plan a schedule. Keep in mind that a lot has changed since we were in college and had to stand in line for hours to get a schedule that was virtually etched in stone when we left the registrar’s office.  Today, students can easily change class schedules online. This freedom is both a blessing and a curse.

Having the flexibility to change one’s schedule almost daily until classes start is very convenient, but please remind your child that just because he can change his schedule, doesn’t mean that he should.  Students have been known to accidentally enroll in senior or graduate level classes because the names of the classes were similar to the ones in which they were enrolled.  When this happens it is not uncommon for the class to be automatically dropped from the schedule, leaving the student short on classes and credit hours.

Advisors usually recommend that students can change sections or times of classes as long as they enroll in the same classes they had enrolled in during orientation. So, a student may freely change from the 8:30am section of English Composition I into the 9:30am section of English Composition I, but should avoid changing from English Composition I into World Literature I even though they are both introductory level English classes.  Once he gets into the swing of college there will be plenty of time to explore classes and take more diverse coursework, but for now, it’s best to leave well enough alone.

* Suggest that your child enroll in early classes at least three days per week, or at least wake up as early as possible. Taking classes from 9:00am or earlier each day means that students aren’t sleeping through half of their days.  They will still stay up late, but early risers tend to have better time management skills and more time during the day for classes, study, work and other activities.

If, at the end of orientation, you still have questions or if once you return home and have a chance to process all the information you received, you still have questions, don’t hesitate to call the appropriate office or the general number for the orientation or parent relations office. We are used to fielding calls and emails about just about anything and can find the appropriate person to answer your questions. 

Topics to Discuss During The Senior Summer

·      Campus Safety - Including the topics such as alcohol and drug use, personal and property safety, common illnesses including STDs, chronic illnesses that your child is managing, any other information included on the college’s website.

·      Academic Expectations – Including realistic expectations for grades, study and class preparation time and where he can go on campus for academic assistance and tutoring. Refer to the college’s website for specific information.

·      Travel plans for move-in day, holidays and breaks – Figure out if your child will move himself or if you will join him for move-in day. Also, will he return home or stay on campus for breaks, and holidays? If he’s staying on campus confirm that his residence hall is open during breaks, if it is not, some colleges offer students break housing in other halls.

·      Emotional health and well being – Including any current or on-going mental health issues, discuss medication and medication management, discuss where to go and whom to call on campus in case of an emergency. Decide if prescriptions, health care, and mental health care will be transferred to a provider near the college or if he will be able to continue with his current doctor, counselor, and pharmacy.

·      How you will communicate – Keeping the lines of communication open is absolutely crucial to college students and their parents at home. Discuss and develop a plan for daily or weekly regular communication that includes a weekly “check-up” phone call as well as expectations for returning calls, texts and emails throughout the week.

* Be sure that you will stick to this plan too. It’s poor form to expect your child to reply to calls or texts within 24 hours if you never do.