WCC; How safe is our campus?

If you were one of the students who received the campus alert on February 12th, you may have been asking yourself this very question. How safe is our campus? The email sent out at 6:28 pm stated:

“The college has been made aware of an anonymous posting on Yik Yak by a person who was being teased by several individuals. The posting stated that this person would 'have something' for those individuals, and the campus, tomorrow (Friday) that the campus would 'remember'."

For those who do not know what Yik Yak is, it is a social media application that allows users to anonymously post messages that can be seen by anyone within a 10 mile radius. Being that SUNY WCC is the largest educational institution in the county, and that there are at least 3 other colleges nearby, what are the chances that this message was meant for this campus?

With a student body of approximately 13,000 students, SUNY Westchester affords it's students a unique experience. Located in Valhalla, NY, SUNY WCC is what most would consider to be a suburban campus. But, with White Plains less than 10 miles away, and New York City 30 miles away students here can still be connected to city life. With that being said, there still is a general feeling that this is a safe area. Surrounded by nursing homes, other institutions of learning, and residential homes, SUNY WCC isn’t located in a “bad area” by any stretch of the imagination.

After speaking to fellow students there was a sense of either being unconcerned, or a “better safe than sorry” approach was taken. Many students either did not receive the email, did not pay attention to it, or only heard about it through a professor or friend. Jessica Lopez, a freshman here at WCC said that she did in fact receive the email. But it was not until she received text messages from friends that she actually took notice of it. "Unfortunately," She said, "we can’t take this lightly anymore.” She also added, “I heard a lot of people didn’t show. It’s just a precaution because you just never know.”

Speaking to Lawrence Burns of Securitas Security, he believes that we have a generally safe campus. He stated that, “We have very few problems I would consider to be any type of threat particularly to students...we do have complaints of minor disputes and things, but I don’t really consider those hazardous to students.” When asked about personal safety Mr. Burns added that students walking around campus with ear buds and focusing on their phone is of particular concern to him, but that an attitude of being alert to what's going on around you is the best way for students to protect themselves.

If you do not receive the school emails straight to your phone, you can sign up for text alerts on the schools website. There are also campus security phones in the lobby of every building on campus, and if you see or hear anything you can always go to the security office located in the Student Center room 118. Being mindful and aware of your surroundings is the first step to not only protecting yourself but also your fellow students.