Marcus Fernandez

Providing an open and welcoming campus that people expect at colleges and universities presents a challenge. Administrators and security officials must develop ways to keep students, faculty, and other campus visitors safe. The challenge becomes even more difficult at schools with on-campus and off-campus housing. Delivering a safe campus environment is a 24-hour-a-day and seven-day-a-week priority. Campus security is a concern for all, whether you attend or work at a college or university. National Campus Safety Awareness Month in September is the perfect time to learn about the risks you may encounter on campus and what Florida colleges and universities are doing to address them. What is National Campus Safety Awareness Month? Congress created National Campus Safety Awareness Month (NCSAM) in 2008 to promote public awareness of topics affecting the safety of students, visitors, faculty, and staff at the many colleges and universities nationwide. Each September, NCSAM observance encourages college and university officials to hold events, seminars, and other activities focused on making campuses safer places by taking a close look at critical topics, including the following: Some of the campus safety programs and activities planned for September at colleges and universities include: Locally, the University of South Florida has a week of activities scheduled for NCSAM throughout September and into October. Safety education and training cover first aid, CPR, active threat prevention, self-defense, and campus safety. This is for faculty, students, and staff. How safe are college campuses? The legislation behind NCSAM came about through the efforts of the parents of a college student who was raped and murdered at the university she attended in 1986. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to make annual reports of crime statistics on their campuses available to the public.  According to a report on college crime compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics, the most commonly reported criminal activities on college and university campuses were the following: Locally, the most recent Clery Act report of crime for the University of South Florida Tampa campus shows the following: At the University of Tampa, the Clery Report for 2021 shows the following reports to law enforcement of criminal activities:  Making crime statistics available to the campus community allows students, faculty members, staff, and visitors to avoid risky situations. Tips to keep you safe at school Maintaining an open, welcoming, and inclusive campus need not sacrifice the safety and security of students, faculty, and staff.  Here are tips to enhance personal safety at colleges and universities: If you sustain an injury or experience harm at school, understanding the details of what transpired and how it occurred could potentially grant you the right to seek compensation. Holding colleges and universities accountable  Colleges and universities must provide a safe and secure environment for their students, faculty, staff, and visitors. When their failure to do so results in harm, the injured person may be entitled to file a personal injury claim against the school to recover compensation. Campus communities deserve safety, protected from college negligence and hazardous situations. Evidence is vital in a personal injury claim against a college for an unsafe campus. The Tampa personal injury attorneys at KFB Law have extensive experience and unsurpassed knowledge of the law to know what it takes to recover damages for someone injured because of an unsafe campus environment. Learn more during a free consultation and claim evaluation by contacting KFB Law today.