Whether you are the first student in your family to come to college or the third, your parents are worried about one thing: your safety. Luckily for you, and for them, Iowa State has a variety of services that work together to make the campus a safe place for students, staff and faculty.

ISU Police: All of the ISU police officers are real, trained officers who are state certified through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, and they are solely focused on protecting the ISU community.

Officer Anthony Greiter is responsible for managing the social media profiles of ISU Police on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. He interacts with students and shares pertinent information about campus situations.

Greiter encourages students to save ISU Police’s non-emergency phone number in their phones: (515) 294-4428.

Students are also encouraged to contact ISU Police with any type of emergency. If you see something, say something.

Emergency Phones: There are 17 emergency phones located throughout campus. These phones are equipped with a button, and once the button is pressed, you are directly connected to the 911 dispatch of ISU Police. Officers are able to respond to an emergency phone request within minutes.

ISU Alert: Students can sign up for ISU Alert through their Access Plus account by clicking the student tab at the top and then ISU Alert on the left hand side. ISU Alert is also managed by ISU Police and is used to send out texts, emails and phone calls to students in case of a campus emergency. ISU Police recommends students only use their information, and not their parents’, when they sign up to receive ISU Alerts.

“We want the people on campus that are going to be immediately affected to get all of the information at once,” Greiter said. “You may not hear a text message go off in the middle of the night because it’s quick but you may hear your phone ring for 30 seconds, and it will annoy you and you’ll wake up and see it.”

If parents or guardians decide to enter their information in Access Plus to receive ISU Alerts, they are discouraged from calling ISU Police directly for more information on the incident. Parents and guardians are directed to the ISU website or to ISU Police’s social media profiles.

Safety Escort / Help Van: The safety escort at Iowa State can be used by students, faculty and staff between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. when classes are in session. If you are feeling unsafe for any reason, you can call the help van for an escort. The help van only escorts users to and from university owned property. The help van can also assist students, faculty and staff with jump starts, a shovel for removing snow and much more. Call (515) 294-4444 for assistance.

Residence Hall Security: Residence halls at Iowa State are equipped with key access. Each student who lives in a residence hall will use their ISU ID in order to gain access to that residence hall. Your ISU ID is only usable for the residence hall in which you are assigned. Students are encouraged to have their ISU IDs with them at all times to avoid getting locked out of their building.

Dave Bunker is the safety coordinator for the Department of Residence, and he works with security in the residence halls. Safety for students living in the residence halls is important to the department, and Bunker works to maintain a level of safety in your ISU home.

“We have security cameras in all of the elevators and [near] the exterior doors,” Bunker said.

Residence hall director Richard Pfarrer encourages students to take proper security measures while living in residence halls.

“When you leave your room, lock your door,” Pfarrer said. “If you see something, say something.”