Class is in session and so is safety. For the first time in years, incoming freshman and transfer students will navigate campus on their own, and for some, mixed emotions are brewing.
Florida A&M University officials and orientation leaders (OLs) host multiple seminars during summer sessions. These sessions serve as an official “welcome to the Highest of Seven Hills,” and provide students with resources that are beneficial to their success and safety on campus.
Though there are multiple segments to each seminar, FAMU officials and orientation leaders further discuss safety issues.
Gardyson Etienne, a 2023 orientation leader, explains how the FAMU Police Department makes themselves very available to students despite the circumstances.
“FAMU PD has a lot of resources and ways you can utilize it,” Etienne said. “If your car battery dies, they will jump it for you. They will even escort you to your destination if it’s needed.”
Etienne mentions how OLs go over the proper way to use the emergency blue light telephones, which are poles placed around campus used to report crimes.
“Students should press the button, and it will call FAMU Department of Campus Safety and Security,” Etienne said. “If you’re in a critical situation and you come across another pole, press it because it will help FAMU DCSS track what direction you’re heading in.”
Claire Noel, a first-year political science student shares her experience on campus and her concerns on safety.
“I hate being alone for so long,” Noel said. “Being that I’m a first year and I am from an entirely different city, it’s been a stressful adjustment. I don’t know the area that well, so if it’s too late I’m a bit hesitant to walk home because there may or may not be someone patrolling the area.”
Q’iara King, a second-year criminal justice transfer student recalls how orientation set the standard for her safety expectations.
“The OLs introduced me to FAMU PD and laid out each and every protocol there was,” King said. “An officer even gave me his contact card to keep in my bag in case of an emergency.”
King goes on to mention how her orientation session prepared her to take on campus.
“I like that we toured campus,” King said. “It allowed me to get familiar with the university and made me a little less nervous.
FAMU PD is constantly on guard and alert, and students can best feel safe if they apply the safety tips they learned during orientation to their everyday lives.