Southern Oregon University Parent Guide
SOU Safety
How safe is the University community and what can my student do to stay safe?
The SOU community and the city of Ashland that surrounds us have generally low levels of crime, especially compared to larger metropolitan areas. However, students are sometimes victims of crime and should be aware of the dangers.
The University has a close relationship with City of Ashland emergency services. We meet weekly with police to discuss individual cases, crime trends, and to engage in problem solving.
The University uses “SOU Alert,” a mass communication system to send safety alerts in the very rare instance of a dangerous situation that students and staff should be informed of so they can take precautions. Students may sign up for SOU Alert through the mySOU portal.
There are a number of SOU services that are designed for safety and prevention:
- 24/7 uniformed patrol by Campus Public Safety officers on campus grounds. Officers are dispatched through the 911 center.
- Escorts are available on campus by contacting Campus Public Safety.
- Main paths throughout campus are well lit during nighttime hours.
In addition, we make the following recommendations to students and staff:
- Be aware of your surroundings and report suspicious behavior or persons immediately by dialing 911.
- Travel with groups when possible during nighttime hours.
- Trust your instincts and don’t put yourself in a vulnerable situation.
- Thefts do occur on campus, especially smaller items of value that can be easily sold, such as laptops and iPods. The vast majority of reported thefts are items that are left unsecured in public areas.
The best way for a student to avoid becoming a victim is to keep valuable items on their person, locked out of sight in a vehicle, or in their locked residence hall room or apartment.
Theft of high-end bikes is an occasional problem. We recommend the use of a good “U” shaped bike lock. As with other items, bike thefts seldom happen when they are properly locked. We recommend students register their bikes with Ashland Police Department. This will allow stolen/recovered bikes to be returned to the owner.
Students should write down and safely store serial numbers on electronics and computers. This will aid in the recovery and return in the rare instance that these items are stolen. A document to record serial numbers can be found on our website.
