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Steve Kardian keynotes the Washington State University "Campus Safety Banquet."

The Daily Evergreen

"ASWSU stresses campus safety"

The second annual banquet was meant to inform students about safety programs on campus.

Sarah Linker
The Daily Evergreen
Published: 11/02/2009

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A woman entering her freshman year of college is at the most vulnerable time in her life for sexual assault, Steve Kardian said Friday evening.

Kardian, a former police officer and nationally recognized self-defense expert, was the keynote speaker at the second annual ASWSU Students for Safety Banquet.

He discussed ways students can protect themselves from sexual assaults, date rape drugs, school shootings and stalkers. He said it is important to have a plan and think about what could go wrong in dangerous situations before they happen.

ASWSU President Derick En’Wezoh said many of the topics Kardian touched on are extremely relevant to WSU students.

“We have a very strong social atmosphere here, and sometimes I do feel like students, both men and women, can become really trusting of their environment and be oblivious to some of the warning signals,” he said. “It’s important to be aware of your environment and be aware of what’s going on around you.” Joshua Hart, ASWSU director of student affairs, said the goal of the banquet was to promote safety programs that are available for students.

For example, ASWSU provides grants for self-defense and personal safety courses offered by University Recreation. It is also working with local and university officials to improve campus lighting.

SafeWalk, a volunteer-based weekend service that provides escorts to students on campus and College Hill, is another ASWSU safety program. Hart said the list of SafeWalk volunteers is expanding. In the past week, roughly 50 people joined.

Banquet attendees were also asked to fill out comment cards with suggestions for new safety program ideas.

“We realize that safety is not a luxury — it’s a right,” Hart said. “And so we need to treat it that way. We need to continue to have programs like this that are going on around campus to promote safety.” Hart said he is not yet sure how much money the banquet raised. Those numbers will be available later this week. He estimated that 260 people came.

“I don’t anticipate making a lot,” he said. “If we break even and make a little bit, I’ll be happy. It’s really more about informing the students.” Erin Thomson, a senior humanities major, attended the banquet with members of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. She found the event informative and worthwhile, she said.

“I think there was definitely information we will take back to our chapter and share,” she said. “These are really serious issues, so I’m glad we got to have some exposure to them, and the speaker was really cool. I was impressed.” Thomson said she believes sexual assaults are the most important issue on our campus in regards to safety.

“Sexual assault is always a big issue because it often goes un-talked about,” she said. “I think it’s something we need to talk about a lot more.” Hart also believes that safety issues such as assault need to be addressed frequently on campus.

“We live in a community really that is pretty darn safe,” he said. “If we pull into that apathetic idea that we are not safe, and we don’t need to worry, someone is going to take advantage of us.”
Link: http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/29969