Safety chat to be held

A free event called UT Safety Chat will take place Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Student Union Room 2592. “It’s an event that is trying to spread awareness and remind students that they are safe on campus and they are protected,” said Student Government senator Ben Lynn. “The UTPD does do a great job.”

The day before the event, SG approved spending up to $250 from its budget to pay for free pizza for UT Safety Chat, which is organized by SG and the UT Police Department.

“Usually we get these kinds of pieces run and passed a couple of weeks in advance, but due to the inclement weather we had earlier in the year, we kind of got short on time and this is just something that we got done today,” Lynn said, who authored the proposal to fund the pizza for the event.

According to UT News, after a question-and-answer with the UTPD Chief of Police Jeff Newton, participants will break into two training sessions - alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate (ALICE) training and healthy boundaries training.

ALICE training helps prepare participants in case of an active shooter situation. The training will be led by Sgt. Doug Perry in Student Union Room 2592.

Healthy boundaries training will be led by certified counselor Lt. Tressa Johnson in order to assist students in improving their romantic relationships through clear communication. Healthy boundaries training will take place in Student Union Room 3020.

Lynn said that with several reports of dangerous activity around campus he felt that the training and safety awareness program is needed.

“There are situations that you should be aware of,” Lynn said, “and we’re just trying to promote awareness that you’re at college, you’re focusing on your studies, you’re there to have a good time, but you need to remember to be safe. That’s the idea behind the event.”

Other safety events scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26, include:

• A Safety Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center, sponsored by the rec center and the University Counseling Center.

• A special safety program for commuter students, scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Union Trimble Lounge.