The 2020 Park University Clery Annual Security Report was recently posted to the Park website. It lists crime statistics and safety policies for all Park University campus locations. All colleges who have federal funding programs must disclose and publish this report under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Safety Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

This act was created as a result of the death of Jeanne Clery, a college student who was murdered in her dormitory. The main purpose of this act is to make students, faculty and the public aware of crimes and safety statistics at colleges and universities.

“I think that’s very important for the campus because it allows people to have a one-stop shop more or less to you know to get all the rules and regs and safety procedures and things that they can do to keep themselves safe,” said Director of Campus Safety Jeffrey Hurley. The report features crime statistics which are divided into several categories as described by Hurley.

The first is major crimes such as murder, manslaughter and sex crimes. The next is substance and weapons violations. The third is student disciplinary statistics. The final is domestic or relational violence statistics.

Numbers are then placed in each of these categories stating the frequency of each crime per campus per year. The Parkville campus featured zeros for all but two of these categories with most infractions relating to disciplinary referrals for substance violations.

In Parkville, there were five on-campus liquor law violations and three on-campus drug abuse violations, the highest numbers for all categories. The other main sections of the report include the procedures and policies implemented at Park.

The report includes security, drug and alcohol, domestic/sexual violence, and missing student policies, which often continue to be adjusted.

“I’ve taken the opportunity to start looking at the Campus Safety offices procedures and make sure that we provide quality services for the students, faculty and staff,” said Hurley.

Another important feature of the report is tips to stay safe if a student is involved in a potentially harmful sexual situation.

These suggestions include attending functions or gatherings with trustworthy people, watching the amount of alcohol or drugs one consumes and being verbal about one’s sexual limits and comforts. When in doubt, contact Campus Safety always as they are open 24 hours seven days a week.

In addition to reaching out to Hurley or Campus Safety, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Jayme Uden, Ed.D., is a campus official who can assist students.

“We want to make sure students have food, clothing, shelter and are safe,” said Uden. “It’s hard to focus on athletics or academics or anything if you’re not safe personally.”

Students can talk to him directly if they have an issue or fill out an online form.

There are different forms students can use on MyPark to file a complaint. To see a list of the forms, go to the student tab and click concern/complaint.

Uden also encourages students to reach out to him, Director of Student Support Amanda Bryant, a resident assistant, Director of Residence Life Tonya Wessel and/or a coach in addition to Campus Safety. These people can then get Uden, Campus Safety or the police involved depending on the situation.

“We have a campus that we try to promote reporting things, and we want students to do that,” said Uden. This is another way to increase and maintain safety on campus.

Junior international business major Elias Eichhorn shares similar sentiments regarding Park’s safety as a resident.

“I knew I was not going to some country that was unstable, or I have to be scared about things like corruption,” said Eichhorn. He came from Düsseldorf, Germany, to continue his academic and soccer career.

Eichhorn said he always felt safe in Germany, a country where citizens do not carry guns. In fact, colleges in Germany do not typically have campus safety either. However, he felt safe about attending school at Park.

One thing he takes comfort in is the fact that Campus Safety has patrol cars which they use to drive around at night to maintain and ensure residential safety.

Senior business major Emma von Weise is another student who generally feels safe on campus aside from one incident.

Von Weise’s car got broken into during fall 2019 in parking lot N during which her earbuds were stolen. Her car was one of the few that got broken into that year, but this did not affect her feelings about safety on campus.

“Parkville is definitely way safe,” said von Weise.

As far as ensuring personal safety at Park, one of the most important safety tips is to sign up for Park Alerts.

Campus Safety sends these alerts out to students, faculty and staff to communicate safety issues like an intruder on campus, weather alerts like inclement weather and more. To sign up for the alerts, visit park.edu/park-alert.