Campus Briefs

Following an Oct. 26 fight on the Fraternity Quad, Associate Dean of Students in charge of discipline Matt Burns has formed a task force in order to discover the facts of the altercation.Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Monica Miranda-Smalls, Assistant Director of Student Activity Programs Melissia Schmidt and Senior Lecturer Priscilla Auchincloss of the Physics and Astronomy department will head the task force.Miranda-Smalls will serve as the chair of the task force. “The role of the task force is to conduct interviews with persons who may have some knowledge of the incident so that we can clarify the facts surrounding the incident,” she said.”The intent of the group is not to get anyone in trouble,” Burns said. “It’s to find out what’s going on.”After learning more about the fight, the task force may make recommendations to Burns regarding further action.Security offers safety tips to studentsSecurity Officer Bob Bennett led an hour-long safety program Oct. 30 in the Gilbert Community Room as part of UR Security’s ThinkSafe program.In addition to its ThinkSafe Report – an annual report of recent UR and community security statistics – UR Security offers sessions for students.At the request of Residential Life staff and university employees, UR Security gives two to three presentations every month througout the school year. The presentations aim was to inform students of the dangers of living both on and off campus and to educate the entire community about safety precautions and resources available to them. “People are number one,” Bennett said in Friday’s session, citing UR Security’s primary concern in protecting people’s safety rather than their possessions while they sleep. In addition to hiding your valuables and taking your keys with you, Bennett also suggested using additional locking devices on cars. He said that bike chains and cables can easily be cut through, and recommended purchasing a U-Lock instead.Bennett left attendees with one last tip – read newspapers such as the Campus Times and the Democrat and Chronicle for a good portrait of life on campus and in the Rochester area. “I read the Campus Times. You have to – it’s the only game in town,” Bennett said.Despite Rochester’s notorious crime rate, Bennett does not discourage students from exploring the city.”Experience college for what it is,” he said.”[UR] want to be a part of Rochester and Rochester wants to be a part of us. All I want you to do is think safe.”The small group of students and Residential Advisers that attended the session agreed that the safety awareness program was informative and applicable.Reporting by Jackie Borchardt and Chadwick Schnee.