I want to start off with a few reminders for the start of the academic year.
Public Safety Relocation
Due to ongoing renovation of our existing dispatch center, Public Safety dispatch will operate out of Lowry House until Aug. 18. The main entrance to the 580 Snake Road building will be locked at this time. If you are aware of any upcoming needs you may have after hours — for example, picking up keys for overnight guests with late arrival times — please call 570-577-3333 in advance to make arrangements. Public Safety will continue to maintain 24/7 patrols of campus during this period.
Card Services will continue to operate at 580 Snake Road and will resume normal academic year hours in August: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you are returning student and you need a new card. Please email cardservices@bucknell.edu and we can have a new card ready for you when you arrive.
Building Access
During the academic year all non-residential academic buildings with card readers open at 6am and lock at 11pm. Students and employees can enter the building using their ID card 24/7 during the academic year. All brass key buildings are opened by facilities M-F and by Public Safety on Saturday and Sunday. We lock up all buildings with the exception of the ELC at 11pm each night. Students have card access to their residence halls. The exception being the Gateways and residents of Martin house who have access to an additional building for laundry purposes.
Parking Changes
This semester brings several parking changes, which were detailed in emails to students and employees. Please visit our website to see all the parking rules and regulations. We will resume parking enforcement on Aug. 11.
One reality of capping permits is the impact it is having on students who will not be able to get a permit to park on campus. In aligning our parking practices to meet our actual inventory of parking spaces, hard choices had to be made. We currently have 797 parking spaces reserved for students, 791 for employees and 873 all-decal spaces. Bucknell has more than 1,400 employees, and over 1,600 students requested to register their vehicle on campus last year. There simply is not enough parking available for everyone. Our intent in making these changes is not to create challenges for students, but to align our parking policy with our actual parking capacity.
I know that a real impact on the student experience will result from this decision. The University chose to implement this cap rather than continue the status quo of frustration, which naturally arises when too many permits are issued for a finite number of parking spaces. Bucknell offers students and employees a variety of ways to get around campus, around the Lewisburg area, to medical appointments and to airports during breaks. More information can be found here.
The changes for the upcoming academic year are as follows:
- The fee for all citations will increase by $35. Our goal is not to burden students and employees with increased costs but to change behavior.
- The threshold for tow-eligible vehicles will be lowered from six tickets to three tickets in an academic year. This means that your vehicle will be towed on your fourth violation in an academic year.
- Students who receive five or more citations will lose their parking privileges for the current academic year and will not be eligible to enter the permit lottery for the next academic year.
- We will implement immediate towing of any vehicle owned or operated by a first-year student that is parked in any Bucknell parking lot.
- Any vehicle that obstructs normal University operations will be subject to immediate towing. This includes vehicles blocking access to sheds, dumpsters, the ELC loading dock and other access points.
- Student permit fees will increase from $50 to $100 per semester, and from $100 to $200 per year. The fee for summer permits will remain $25.
- The number of student permits will be strictly capped at 1,300. This is a reduction from the 1,634 student permits we issued during this academic year.
- Lot 72 (across from the Weis Center) has been changed from a staff lot to an all-decal lot, adding 96 spaces to all-decal parking. Lot 72 is utilized at times during the academic year for football, lacrosse and Weis Center events. Signage will be placed when the lot needs to be closed for these events.
In March, we received certification from the Municipal Police Officers Training and Education Committee as an ACT 120 police department, making Bucknell only the third private institution in Pennsylvania to earn this recognition at the time. While our sworn officers could previously exercise all the powers of a police officer under the Pennsylvania code (Title 22, Section 501), this official designation recognizes that our training and standards are at the level of a state-certified municipal police department.
Our team also includes Community Service Officers — unarmed officers who are available to respond to noncriminal calls for service between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. Keep an eye out for Deputy Diggs and Bonnie, his handler, walking the campus. You can request visits from Digger by using this link.
Trainings
Public Safety has certified instructors on staff for the following classes. Use this form to request and schedule a class.
ALICE Training is the original civilian active shooter response training delivered with a trauma-informed approach in an age- and ability-appropriate way. More information can be found at ALICE Training Model.
Class Length: 90 minutes
Max Attendees: No limit
Cost: $0
AVADE Personal Self-Defense provides informative, proactive prevention strategies and interventions that can help prevent and mitigate fear, conflict and aggression while creating a culture of safety. More information can be found at AVADE Workplace Violence Prevention.
Class Length: 90 minutes
Max Attendees: 12
Cost: $0
Basic Car Maintenance is intended to teach the basics of troubleshooting common car issues such as changing a tire, jumping a dead battery and checking the oil. This is a general overview and demonstration for individuals and groups. Individual requests tailored to specific makes and models may also be requested and will be accommodated if possible.
Class Length: Varies
Max Attendees: Varies
Cost: $0
Fraud Awareness teaches participants how to identify common tactics used to defraud and exploit the kindness of others.
Class Length: 30 minutes
Max Attendees: No limit
Cost: $0
Heartsaver CPR AED (group requests only) is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches adult CPR, AED use and choking relief. This course uses AHA’s research-proven, practice-while-watching technique, which allows students to mimic accurate skills being performed on the video while instructors provide feedback and guide the students’ skill learning. More information can be found at American Heart Association Heartsaver.
Class Length: 90 minutes
Max Attendees: 6-8 per class — we can schedule multiple classes to certify everyone in a group
Cost: $20 per participant (this covers the cost of necessary supplies and the $17 fee charged by AHA for certification card registration). Invoice will be sent directly from WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital on behalf of the American Heart Association.
Narcan/Naloxone Administration & Distribution teaches participants how to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose and administer the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone. Narcan kits will be provided to all participants. Hosted in collaboration with Sheila Packer RN, WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital community educator.
Class Length: 60 minutes
Max Attendees: No limit
Cost: $0
Situational Awareness teaches participants methods and strategies to help them be prepared rather than paranoid when dealing with challenging situations.
Class Length: 60 minutes
Max Attendees: No limit
Cost: $0
Other Topics: Public Safety is fortunate to have many team members with a wide variety of experience and expertise. If there’s a topic that you would like more information about, or for any engagement opportunity you’d like Public Safety to participate in, send us a request at publicsafety@bucknell.edu.
BSAFE App
If you have not downloaded the BSAFE App, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible.
Tips for staying safe as you navigate the new semester
Know how to contact Public Safety: Call us 24/7 at 570-577-1111 (emergency) or 570-577-3333 (other calls). You can also reach us through the BSAFE app and via email at publicsafety@bucknell.edu.
Always lock your room door, register your bike and keep it locked up, and do not leave valuable personal items unattended.
Safeguard your personal information, as phishing and phone scams are common. Do not give out your personal information without verifying the legitimacy of the person sending the email or making the phone call. If you have questions about the legitimacy of an email, you can contact us.
Understand medical amnesty and when it applies. Bucknell prioritizes student safety by offering medical amnesty when a student calls for medical assistance on behalf of another who is impaired due to alcohol or drug use. Under the medical amnesty policy, the student placing the call and the student for whom the call was made will not be subject to the student conduct process for alcohol or drug violations. When the leadership of a recognized student organization makes a call for help for any student attending their event, the organization will not be subject to code of conduct sanctions for alcohol or drug violations. The graphic below summarizes the medical amnesty policy.
Bucknell offers many more support resources, which you can find by downloading the BSAFE app. Please take the time to get to know the resources we provide for you.