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UALR presents September Safety Month

Participants in a past Green Dot Amazing Race. Green Dot activities are part of September Safety Month.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is celebrating September Safety Month with numerous on-campus activities.

Students, faculty, and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare the campus for this month’s activities, which focus on Title IX, suicide prevention, active shooter training, Green Dot bystander intervention, and hazing prevention.

A few of the September Safety Month activities that students can look forward to include the active shooter presentation, the chancellor’s campus safety roundtable and Department of Public Safety meet and greet, and the Green Dot Amazing Race.

Suicide prevention activities are scheduled to run through the week of Sept. 19-24.

The active shooter presentation, which will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in Ledbetter Hall, is an important event for students and faculty at UALR. During this event, campus police will show participants how to react and respond during a shooting crisis.

The chancellor’s campus safety roundtable and Department of Public Safety meet and greet will run from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in Ledbetter C. This event will give students the opportunity to have an open dialogue regarding safety with the chancellor and campus police.

The final event of the month will be the highly anticipated Green Dot Amazing Race. It’s scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Coleman Sports and Recreation Complex. Students will team up in groups of six to 10 people and race through an obstacle course. After each obstacle, students must answer a question regarding campus safety.

“September Safety Month truly concerns the overall safety of the campus,” said Mia Phillips, communications and special projects coordinator in the Office of the Chancellor. “Safety is the responsibility of all of us, not just DPS (Department of Public Safety). We have to protect each other.”

Although many of the activities during this month will be fun, organizers seek to drive home the importance of students knowing their options.

“We’re talking about heavy subjects, so we want to make it as engaging as we can while still trying to get the point across,” said Phillips. “When situations happen, some people don’t report it, know who to report it to, or know how to react. We want to show students how to not only protect themselves, but protect others even if they don’t know the person. That doesn’t mean jump in front of a bullet, but it could simply be calling the police.”

University officials are pushing the culture of inclusion and non-violence on campus and in the community. During this year’s Green Dot race, the university will host a supply drive for Women and Children First, a shelter and safe-haven for battered women and children.

Campus organizations that have contributed to September Safety Month include the Department of Public Safety, Counseling Services, Green Dot, and Student Affairs. Outside sponsor Verizon has also made major contributions to this month’s events.

For more information on campus safety, visit ualr.edu/greendot.