Spring Break
Officials give advice for staying safe on campus
Kenya Brown
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: News
In the aftermath of Taylor Behl's disappearance, Rachel Maddux, director of residential life and housing, said guest visitation in the dorms remains the same, but more residents now call her office when their roommates have been gone for a couple of days.
"Safety is a priority for us and we are constantly reviewing all of our policies in residential life," she said.
Maddux explained the procedure already in place. When students first enter the dormitory, they must display their identification cards to security guards and swipe their cards before entering their dorm. If residents have a guest with them, that person has to be signed in. Guests also have to leave their identifications with the security guard even if they are students who live in another VCU dormitory.
Tiffany Brady, a first-year student who lives in Brandt Hall, said the security guards do a good job of checking identifications, and the guards are always visible to students and staff. But she has a problem with the visitation policy.
"Once they're in the building, you really don't know how long they've been there," she said. Brady also expressed her concern about roommates who may not be close friends.
"If you don't have a good relationship with your roommate, you may not know if they are gone, at home or anything," she said.
Henry G. Rhone, vice provost for student affairs and enrollment services, said he called a meeting with several administrators to look at what could be done to help students with the dangers of using the Facebook or the MySpace Web sites.
"The more personal information you put on there, the more vulnerable you are," he said. Rhone said he and other administrators have talked of asking instructors to incorporate safe Internet usage into the VCU 101 course by taking time to teach students what to do when they are on the Internet.
"The Internet can be wonderful and helpful in many ways," he said. "But unfortunately the person on the other end may not have the same intentions."
Safe-Internet use has also been discussed by residents. Residential assistants talked with students about the dangers of the Internet and plan to discuss additional information at a more formal session.
"We are trying to educate our students about safe-Internet use and how to be more Internet savvy," Maddux said, adding that students do not have to give out their addresses, phone numbers or full names when using Web sites.
"Safety is a priority for us and we are constantly reviewing all of our policies in residential life," she said.
Maddux explained the procedure already in place. When students first enter the dormitory, they must display their identification cards to security guards and swipe their cards before entering their dorm. If residents have a guest with them, that person has to be signed in. Guests also have to leave their identifications with the security guard even if they are students who live in another VCU dormitory.
Tiffany Brady, a first-year student who lives in Brandt Hall, said the security guards do a good job of checking identifications, and the guards are always visible to students and staff. But she has a problem with the visitation policy.
"Once they're in the building, you really don't know how long they've been there," she said. Brady also expressed her concern about roommates who may not be close friends.
"If you don't have a good relationship with your roommate, you may not know if they are gone, at home or anything," she said.
Henry G. Rhone, vice provost for student affairs and enrollment services, said he called a meeting with several administrators to look at what could be done to help students with the dangers of using the Facebook or the MySpace Web sites.
"The more personal information you put on there, the more vulnerable you are," he said. Rhone said he and other administrators have talked of asking instructors to incorporate safe Internet usage into the VCU 101 course by taking time to teach students what to do when they are on the Internet.
"The Internet can be wonderful and helpful in many ways," he said. "But unfortunately the person on the other end may not have the same intentions."
Safe-Internet use has also been discussed by residents. Residential assistants talked with students about the dangers of the Internet and plan to discuss additional information at a more formal session.
"We are trying to educate our students about safe-Internet use and how to be more Internet savvy," Maddux said, adding that students do not have to give out their addresses, phone numbers or full names when using Web sites.
