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The Weekly Snapshot
Your source for the latest tips, information, and current campus safety resources from the NCCPS.
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| Click image to download a PDF of the document. |
Protecting Minors on Campus
Most institutions of higher education experience interactions with minors on their campuses, especially over the summer months when colleges host sports, theater and a variety of other camps for children of all ages. Minors may also be on campuses, accompanied or unaccompanied, throughout the year while doing such things as participating in pre-college programs, taking music lessons, attending functions and events, or arriving as freshmen. It is important to safeguard the youth who interact with faculty, staff, students and volunteers and there are steps colleges and universities can take to protect minors when they are on the institution's premises or participating in the institution's programs and activities designed to include minors.
Jeffrey Christensen, Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign urges that "a team approach with involved campus entities is critical" when addressing the challenges associated with reducing and managing the risk and liability of having minors on campus. University of Illinois Police were part of the campus work group that developed and implemented the current Protection of Minors policy for campus activities involving minors.
Understanding and managing the risks associated with having minors on campus can be a difficult task. Chief Christensen states that this "is a worthy challenge" and cited the development and maintenance of a background check process as one of the challenges the University of Illinois encountered. University police worked in partnership with the university's human resources office to create an effective and efficient background check process that identifies the duty to submit to background checks (under section III. Requirements) by all University of Illinois personnel, volunteers and contractors and outlines the background check requirement.
Conducting background checks is one of many methods that can be used to reduce risk. The document, Managing the Risk of Minors on Campus, contains information that is intended to help higher education risk managers, administrators and anyone responsible for minors on campus understand and manage risk. This monograph is a product of the 2012 Arthur J. Gallagher Think Tank for Higher Education Risk Management. Think Tank participants included leaders in higher education risk management and insurance along with experts in sexual abuse prevention. Participants identified the particular risks to higher education institutions arising from the presence of minors on campuses and in college programs, and suggested possible strategies for consideration in managing these risks. Among the topics discussed and addressed are risk identification; analysis of risk; preventing sexual abuse of minors; loss control best practices; response and recovery; and insurance, risk transfer and financing. Appendices are included on the following: criminal background checks, sample volunteer application form information, sample policy on minors, risk factorsand loss control measures scoring sheet, medical care authorization, self-administration of prescription medication authorization and camp waiver/release.
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LGBT Pride Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month is celebrated every June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement, that took place in Manhattan. Since then, LGBT Pride Month and the efforts to achieve equal justice and equal opportunities for LGBT Americans has made historic achievements, though continued work is necessary.
Presidents Clinton and Obama have used executive orders and proclamations to advance the rights of the LGBT community, including expanding equal opportunity employment in the federal government by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Library of Congress maintains a list of all executive branch documents that have been issued related to LGBT Pride Month as well as historical information on their Pride Month website.
Community Relations Service (CRS) at the Department of Justice has a mandate under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 to work with communities to employ strategies to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, race, color, or national origin. "Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community," is a two and a half hour training program that was launched nationally in March 2014 and focuses on educating law enforcement officers and officials who are interacting and working with transgender and gender non-conforming community members. The training has three objectives: 1) Learning relevant terminology to help break down barriers (e.g., distinctions between assigned sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity)
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2)understanding misconceptions that impact the prevention of and response to hate crimes; and 3) developing an awareness of strategies and resources for successful collaboration. Anyone interested in the training may call CRS' main office in Washington, DC at (202) 305-2935 for a referral to the closest regional office or you may access the
CRS regional office listing.
In addition, CRS provides a training program for students in middle/junior high school, high school and college to address hate activity, harassment and discrimination. The program, Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (SPIRIT), is an interactive student-based problem-solving program that engages students in developing solutions to these problems. The two half-day sessions also engage school administrators, teachers, school resource officers, local officials, community leaders, and parents in the process of identifying and responding to these conflicts in schools and creating the safest possible environment for learning.
The Office for Victims of Crime is featuring an online guide, Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault, to help educate those working in the field. According to the OVC website, the guide addresses "specific challenges that victim service providers, first responders, and health care providers may encounter...(and) provides practical tools to promote understanding and support for transgender victims."
To read President Obama's 2015 LGBT Pride Month Proclamation, visit the White House Press Office.
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Campus Public Safety Online Presents:
Best Fans In America: Working to Change the Culture of College Football Tailgating
On Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 2:00 PM EDT, we will present the second webinar in our new
Campus Public Safety Online
free webinar series.
Best Fans In America: Working to Change the Culture of College Football Tailgating will be a discussion
about the essentials of managing tailgating, changing social norms, as well as campus leadership and other environmental strategies incorporated to encourage responsible use of alcohol at home football games.
Kim Dude, Director of the
Wellness Resource Center
at the University of Missouri, will lead the discussion.
Registration is required and available via our
webinar webpage
along with additional information about the webinar. Space is limited.
Registration deadline is Friday, June 19, 2015.
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Professional Development Opportunities
Title: Campus Safety Conference
Host: Campus Safety Magazine
Fee: Registration Fee
Information and Registration
- July 13-14, 2015 in Chicago, IL
- July 23-24, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA
Title: In the Eye of the Storm: Crisis Management Response and Preparation
Hosts: American Council on Education (ACE), National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA)
Date: July 16, 2015 at 12:00PM Eastern
Location: Online
Fee: Registration Fee
Information and Registration
Title: 2015 Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) Annual Conference
Host: CSHEMA
Dates: July 17-22, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Fee: Registration Fee
Information and Registration
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