Safety and Security

Safety and Security in the Residence Halls

Safety and security in the residence halls is a shared responsibility between university staff members and residents. Each plays an important role in keeping our communities safe and comfortable places to live.

What we Provide

Housing and Residence Life, as well as the University, provide important tools for you to protect yourself and others. These tools include:

  • One-way peepholes in residence hall doors
  • Electronic access to outside doors as well as locking hardware on all suite/room doors
  • Annual lighting surveys, “Let There Be Light,” that give University community members to opportunity to identify areas on campus that need additional lighting or to highlight safety concerns
  • Campus telephones at the main entrance of each residence hall
  • Emergency “Blue Light” phones in major thoroughfares on campus
  • Trained staff members living in each residence hall
  • On-duty resident assistants in each building at night during academic terms and available in each hall office between 8 pm and 11 pm Sunday through Thursday and 8 pm and 12 am Fridays and Saturdays
  • On-call professional staff members 24/7
  • The ability for students to restrict access to their directory information
  • Campus Safety officers on-campus

What You Can Do

Remember, residents are responsible not only for their own behavior but also for the behavior of their guests.

There are some simple things you can do to keep yourself, your fellow residents, and your belongings secure. These include:

  • Locking your bedroom/suite door when you are not in or when you are sleeping
  • Using the peep hole in your suite/room door to identify visitors before opening your door
  • Not letting someone you don’t know into your room or letting them follow you into the building when you unlock an outside door
  • Not propping exterior doors
  • Not attaching your student ID card to your keys so that they are clearly identifiable to anyone who may pick them up
  • Not lending out your keys to anyone, including other residents
  • Reporting suspicious people or behavior to your resident assistant, hall coordinator, other residence life staff member, Campus Safety, or the police
  • Reporting lost keys immediately so door fobs can be deactivated and lock changes made
  • Reporting any crime immediately to a University staff member or the police

By assuming shared responsibility for the above, Housing and Residence Life staff and residents can work together to create a safer, healthier community for everyone.

Visit EOU’s Safety and Security web page for more information.