Javaune Adams-Gaston spoke Jan. 30 in Hitchcock Hall as part of ‘The Last Lecture Series.’ Credit: Hilary Frew / For The Lantern
Many Ohio State students have probably been told by their loved ones to stay safe both on- and off-campus, but a recent OSU email attempted to address some specifics of how they can protect themselves from harm.
OSU Vice President of Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston sent out an email Aug. 22 urging students to stay safe on and off campus.
This is the second year Adams-Gaston has sent out an email with safety tips, and this year’s email included roughly the same 10 tips from last year.
Previously, Adams-Gaston had used her column on the Buckeye Net News weekly email to talk about safety, but she decided last year to use email to reach students, OSU Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs said.
“What Dr. J wanted to do with this is come up with a broad list of safety topics,” Isaacs said. “Obviously, there could be more, but she wanted to pick the ones that she felt most impacted students.”
Adams-Gaston included links to campus resources in the email to give students access to more information, Isaacs said.
“She just thought this was a good time, with students coming back to campus for the start of the school year, to put this out,” Isaacs said. “Many of the safety tips are really common sense, but I think it’s always good to just have a reminder about these issues and about safety.”
The tips included “Be informed,” “Deter thieves,” “Party responsibly” and “Be a good neighbor,” among others.
The email was sent to all OSU students, but some did not take the message personally.
“Emails get really impersonal, so I opened it, I kind of glanced at it, kind of read the bolded words, but I didn’t really go into detail about reading it,” said Cailin Manning, a second-year in dance. “I think at a school with this big of a population, it’s really hard to reach out and get really personal with messages like that.”
Other students thought the message had a positive effect.
“I don’t know if they (most students) read it, but I know that it’s pretty effective at least getting it out and at least getting people to see it,” said Christa Moore, a first-year in psychology and criminology. Moore received the email but did not read it.
Although neither paid much attention to the email initially, both Manning and Moore agreed with the safety tips Adams-Gaston sent out.
Moore said her biggest tip would be to not walk alone at night and to stick with friends.
Manning added that there are small things that can be done to increase one’s safety.
“I have pepper spray. I always keep that on my keychain, so little things like that,” said Manning, who lives off-campus. “Just being smart about where you are, especially late at night. Being aware of your surroundings.”
Adams-Gaston was not available for comment.
