P-Safe, Freshman Class's New Best Friend

Public Safety has begun to implement its new Adopt-a-Dorm initiative this semester, in which one P-Safe officer will be assigned to each freshman dorm in an effort to "foster closer relationships between students and officers":

“It’s a program where we would interact with students on a friendly basis to help with crime prevention and fire safety, and be more involved to stay on a positive note,” said Public Safety Officer Thomas Harrington. “I consider myself approachable. This uniform is just something I wear to work.”

“The intentions of the program are not to catch students in the act of violating policy, but, like any University official, if [Public Safety officers] notice a policy violation, they are obligated to confront it,” wrote Associate Director of Residential Life Maureen Isleib in an e-mail. Hopefully, improved relationships will allow students to feel more willing to approach officers if they encounter a problem.

...The Adopt-A-Dorm program will also offer activities such as poster-making contests to get students involved in safety and crime prevention. Officer Harrington has already memorized the names of many residents and RAs in his designated building, Butterfield A.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Jessica Bowen ’11. “It takes away the idea of PSafe as an ‘other.’”

Oh, if only I had one P-Safe Friend to make posters with during my freshman year, instead of being repeatedly "othered" by various different officers when busted for egregious noise violations and other bad decisions.

Argus: Public safety program seeks to improve relations

Roth Blogs About Obama

From the Roth Blog:

Senator Obama’s speech to our graduates this Sunday is an act of friendship, and friendship is one of the defining features of our Commencement. The graduate students who have finished their degrees and the class of 2008 will be leaving Middletown on Sunday afternoon, but they will be taking with them relationships that will last a lifetime. As I meet with alumni across the country, a common thread in their description of why Wesleyan is important to them is that they developed relationships here which last a lifetime. The devotion to alma mater is also a devotion to the friendships forged in study, or in sports, in the arts, or in civic engagement.

We will see that devotion in these days leading up to commencement. Alumni from more than fifty years ago, and alumni from our most recent classes are coming back on campus for the weekend. My own class, 1978, will be celebrating our 30th reunion, and I look forward to seeing many friends as they re-discover their old homes, dorms and classrooms.

Senator Obama’s willingness to “stand in his friend’s place” on Sunday is not a campaign event but a poignant expression of friendship. There will be many other such expressions occurring all over campus as we welcome a new group of Wesleyan grads into the alumni family.

Also, this final allusion to security issues at the ceremony:

P.S. Please remember that Commencement is not a grand public occasion but the culmination of the Wesleyan experience for the graduates and their families.

...Aww. What a feel good entry. (Especially after his most recent posts about Fountain.)