October 1st, 2009

From Amanda Warman, Campus Safety: If you haven’t yet signed up for CityWatch, the College’s Emergency Notification System (ENS), please take a few moments to click on this link and add your information. 

The CityWatch system will be used to notify the campus community when campus operations are curtailed or when a situation exists that presents an imminent danger to the campus (one that threatens the immediate safety of the campus community and is not anticipated - failure to provide such a warning may result in serious harm).

 Once you have registered, you can update your information whenever necessary by creating your own user name and password. (If you have already registered, you do not need to register again). Please do not use dashes or parentheses (-), and enter area codes for each contact telephone number. Please see the College’s ENS Policy for more information, or contact Campus Safety.

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From Amanda Warman, Campus Safety: With the approval of the Cabinet, the College’s Emergency Notification System Policy has been updated to include the use of the system for notifications of curtailed operations in addition to notifications of imminent emergency. This will enable us to better communicate information to faculty, staff, and students. A copy of the policy is available on the Campus Safety website.

City Watch, our emergency notification system, is moving to an enhanced platform and will require everyone to re-register their information in order to receive notifications. The updated system will let users update their information on their own when needed.

Please feel free to contact Amanda Warman, 358-2766, if you have any questions or concerns.

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From Karyn Kaminsky, Human Resources: Please welcome the following newly hired staff members to KSC: Sarah Strong, business services assistant, Student Financial Services; Gregory Williams, Campus Safety officer, Campus Safety; Katey Kimbal, Campus Safety officer, Campus Safety; Craig Cashman, Campus Safety officer, Campus Safety.

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On Wednesday, March 4, the Multicultural Luncheon Series will present “Restorative Justice: What It Is and What Does It Have To Do with Diversity?” from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room.

Linda Baker (Psychology) will provide a brief introduction to the philosophy, principles, and processes of Restorative Justice (RJ) as it is used in communities and college campuses across the country. Dottie Morris, chief officer of Diversity and Multiculturalism will discuss ways in which RJ can promote a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and populations in these settings and provide more healing approaches to dealing with crime and conflict. Mark Schmidl-Gagne, Dispute Resolution coordinator, and Amanda Warman, director of Campus Safety, will join us in describing plans to bring restorative justice to KSC.

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From the Health and Safety Committee: We are sending out the following tips to remind you of the hazards of winter conditions:

• Please notify the Grounds Department (8-2702), Physical Plant (8-2202 ), or Sylvie Rice (8-2879) if you find slippery areas or falling ice from buildings, so that we can remedy the situation as quickly as possible.
• Wear appropriate shoes for the weather.
• Use extra caution around snowplows. The plow driver’s vision is often obstructed by the weather conditions and blind spots, so he/she may not be aware of your presence, especially if you are in a small car.
• Be careful when getting out of your car, especially in the early morning and evening when water tends to freeze up.
• Be sure that on-coming traffic has come to a complete stop before you cross the street — cars and trucks cannot stop as quickly when the roads are slippery.

Many of our accidents are related to slips and falls due to icy conditions, and some of our buildings are prone to ice buildups on the roof. Our grounds crew and UNICCO staff work hard to keep the paths and roads clear and free of hazards, but wintry weather can be difficult, especially given the frequency and nature of the storms that we have been having lately. If you should have an accident or near miss, please fill out an incident report form available at http://www.keene.edu/hr/forms/incident_report.pdf.

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From Amanda Warman, Campus Safety: For Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, October 25, on-campus parking will be allowed for faculty and staff (with permit), registered homecoming attendees, and students with RC and P2 permits only in:
• Pondside 2: Only vehicles with P2 and P2F permits are permitted to park in the Pondside 2 lot. No guests are permitted in that lot.
• Owls Nest lot: Only vehicles with RC and RCF permits are permitted to park in the Owls Nest lot. No guests are permitted in that lot.
Visitor Parking: Winchester St. lot only (vehicles must be in parking spaces — not on lawns or end of rows). No passes will be issued for Saturday.

Parking for the Pumpkin Festival is available at the following locations as indicated on the Festival website (shuttle service will be provided to downtown Keene from these lots):
• Smiths Medical on Black Brook on Route 12 (north of Keene) Peerless Insurance Co. on Maple Avenue
• Timken Precision on Optical Avenue
• C & S Wholesale Grocer on Optical Avenue
• Markem Corp. off Optical Avenue
• Cheshire Fairgrounds on Route 12 (south of Keene)
Street Closings: Downtown Keene will be closed to traffic beginning on Friday, October 24, and throughout the day on Saturday. This includes Central Square and Main Street to Water Street. Main Street will reopen as soon as festival clean-up is finished on Saturday night.

Handicapped Parking: Handicapped parking is available in front of the Keene Middle School on Washington St. and in the lot beside/behind the Colonial Theatre (look for signs on the meters).

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From Amanda Warman, Campus Safety: The most effective methods of crime prevention require the help of all members of the College community. Here’s how you can help to create a safer world of possibilities at Keene State:
If you witness a crime or suspicious incident, dial 8-2228 from any campus phone (or 358-2228 from an off-campus phone) immediately. Be prepared to provide the following information:
• Location of incident and where you are calling from
• Persons involved — names, sex, age, height, weight, clothing, and any distinguishing characteristics such as facial scars, tattoos, or hairstyle
• If anyone is ill or injured
• Method and direction of travel of any suspects
• Vehicle information — license plate number, make, color, identifying features
• Description of stolen property, if applicable

By following the suggestions below, you can help Campus Safety’s efforts:
• Be alert and observant. If you see someone behaving suspiciously or tampering with property, call 8-2228.
• Report any locks, windows, doors, or lights in need of repair.
• Report all crimes. Crimes that go unreported are never solved.
For more information go to www.keene.edu/campussafety/.

Check out our blog for weekly activity logs and up-to-date news on staff, classes, and other information.

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From Forrest Seymour, Counseling Center: About a dozen KSC students trained to be peer educators in KSC’s annual Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) training over the weekend.

MVP’s motto is “Students Helping Students End Sexual Violence.” MVP has been at KSC for six years. It is part of a national network of MVP programs across the country working with colleges and high schools, professional sports teams, and the U.S. military. At KSC, MVP does 10 to 20 programs per semester, reaching 250 – 500 students. Presentations take place in classes, res halls, and all first-year halls and are offered to all Greek pledges.

MVP uses the “Bystander Approach,” which seeks to empower bystanders to sexual abuse by teaching safe ways for them to intervene in the abusive cycle. For more information, contact Forrest Seymour, 8-2047.

Courtesy photo:
KSC student peer educators at a MVP training session September 29 – 30.

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John McCardell, president emeritus of Middlebury College and organizer of the Amethyst Initiative, will speak at Keene State College on Tuesday, September 30, at Keene State College’s forum “Why 21? Is It Time to Debate the Minimum Drinking Age?”

The forum will start at 6 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room, Young Student Center, and the community is encouraged to attend and participate. Chuck Weed, KSC political science professor and NH state legislator, will also speak. Daniel Saucier, KSC Student Body president, and Geoff Ness, KSC Student Assembly chair, will moderate the forum.

This summer, 129 college and university chancellors and presidents signed the Amethyst Initiative, which states that there is a culture of dangerous binge drinking on many campuses and that the problem of irresponsible drinking by young people continues, despite the minimum legal drinking age of 21. The initiative calls for an exploration of the consequences of current alcohol policies and invites new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use.

Keene State College President Helen Giles-Gee did not sign the statement but called for a campus-wide forum to discuss the issue.

“The College believes in a philosophy of liberal education that develops character as well as learning,” Giles-Gee said. “Students demonstrate character when they behave responsibly and make good judgments, and one of the tenets of character building is to provide students with enough information so that they can make good judgments.”

McCardell is also founder of Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization founded to stimulate public discussion about the presence of alcohol in American culture and to consider policies encouraging young adults to make mature decisions about the place of alcohol in their lives .

For more information on the Amethyst Initiative, visit http://www.amethystinitiative.org/.

Chuck Weed came to Keene State 36 years ago after teaching and coaching middle- and high-school students. He has represented Cheshire County in the New Hampshire House of Representatives for eight years.

For more information on the forum, contact Dr. Andrew Robinson at 603-358-2107, arobinso@keene.edu.

Courtesy photso
John McCardell, Chuck Weed

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As part of the comprehensive safety and emergency plan developed by the College, both the siren warning and the CityWatch emergency notification systems were tested on Thursday, September 25, between noon and 1 p.m.

The siren is intended for exterior areas and may not be heard inside some buildings. It will be tested at least once a year, and the campus will be notified each time. Other than the tests, it will be used only in the event of an imminent danger that requires immediate action.

CityWatch sends messages via SMS (text), cellular telephone, telephone, and/or e-mail to registered users. If you have not yet registered for notification through CityWatch, you may still do so through the following site: http://www.citywatchonline.com/csbsignup/communitysignupkeene.asp

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In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, a federal law, Keene State College annually compiles and posts this information. It is now available at http://www.keene.edu/policy/disclosure.cfm.

Please direct any questions to Amanda Warman, director of Campus Safety, awarman@keene.edu.

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