The University at Buffalo offers a convenient system to deliver warning messages about on-campus situations, but when it comes to crime off-campus, students do not have as reliable a source of information.
The on-campus system, known as UB Alert, is a multi-faceted service that distributes messages through a wide variety of media.
These means of alert include the university's homepage, MyUB, the UB Reporter page, the UB emergency web page, and e-mail and text message alerts for those who have signed up for them.
These services were put into place in compliance with the Clery Act. The act is a federal legislation that requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.
"UB Alert is a free service offered by the University at Buffalo that delivers text messages and/or e-mail messages to members of the campus community during emergencies and when adverse weather conditions affect normal campus operations," said Chief of University Police Gerald Schoenle. "Text message alerts are generally reserved for more serious on-campus emergencies."
Some past incidents that were sent out as text alerts include weather emergencies, the report of a possible person with a weapon in Lockwood, the report of a robbery that had just occurred on campus, and possible gas leaks.
The UB Alert system is set into motion when either a senior administrator or the University Police Department decides that a message is needed. Once the decision has been made, University Communications crafts a message.
After this, University Communications does two things. First, it publishes the message to channels that the university controls, such as MyUB and the emergency website. It then passes the message on to channels that are controlled by other institutions, like local news media outlets.
"We have to communicate through a variety of channels," said Joseph Brennan, associate vice president for University Communications.
Since past incidents involving possible physical danger to people or property have been reported by text, questions remain about the response to the recent incident at 211 Lisbon Ave.
"We don't want to be the boy who cried wolf," Brennan said. "If we [sent] out messages over everything, people wouldn't pay them any attention."
In addition to not being able to send out emergency warning messages to students, University Police also cannot patrol certain areas of the University Heights. University Police officers have jurisdiction only on campus and the streets that border South Campus, such as Winspear Avenue, Bailey Avenue, and Main Street.
"The University Police are State University police," Brennan said. "That means they are an agency just like the Buffalo Police Department or Amherst Police Department. They have a geographic boundary jurisdiction."
Some students living in the University Heights often feel slighted when it comes to security.
"University Heights houses a lot of students, and that is an important part of the school community, just as dorms and on-campus apartments are," said Erica Teneyck, a junior accounting major and University Heights resident. "Just because we can't afford to live on campus doesn't mean we shouldn't get the same sense of security as those who live on campus."
Despite University Police limitations, safety in the Heights remains a concern for many at UB. Recently, University and Buffalo police have initiated a collaborative effort to continue improving safety and deter crime there.
University Police officers are authorized to assist Amherst, Buffalo, and NFTA officers during patrols, arrests, and investigations, and they often do. Because of this arrangement, UB was able to launch joint patrols in University Heights from Thursday through Saturday nights. The patrols are conducted with assistance from officers from the Buffalo Police Department and NFTA.
To further increase safety, UB has paid for security cameras that are positioned on traffic signals and streetlight poles on Englewood Avenue, LaSalle Avenue, Winspear Avenue, Parkridge Street, Main Street, Custer Street and Eley Place.
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
