X. Campus Safety and Emergency Procedures
Overview
Oakridge College expects students to help maintain a safe campus.
Students should report threats, violence, weapons, fire, medical emergencies, harassment, stalking, unsafe behavior, and any situation that may place people in danger. In an emergency, students should follow instructions from Campus Security, Residence Assistants, faculty, staff, emergency responders, or other college authorities.
Safety comes before classes, events, property, schedules, or social plans.
The Details
Campus safety is a shared responsibility.
Campus Security, Student Affairs, Residence Assistants, faculty, staff, and senior administration all have roles in keeping Oakridge safe. Students also have responsibilities. Students should pay attention to safety concerns, follow emergency instructions, and report serious problems quickly.
A student should not ignore a safety concern because they are unsure whether it is “serious enough.” It is better to report a concern early than to wait until someone is harmed.
When to Contact Campus Security
Students should contact Campus Security when a situation involves danger, possible danger, or a need for immediate response.
Campus Security should be contacted for:
- Threats
- Physical violence
- Weapons
- Fire, smoke, or gas
- Medical emergencies
- Stalking or pursuit
- Harassment or intimidation
- A person refusing to leave when directed
- A person who appears dangerous or out of control
- A person who may harm themselves or others
- Unsafe behavior in a residence hall
- Unsafe behavior at an event
- Serious property damage
- Suspicious activity in restricted areas
- Any situation that feels immediately unsafe
Students should not try to handle dangerous situations alone.
Emergency Priorities
In any emergency, students should focus on these priorities:
- Protect life.
- Move away from immediate danger when safe.
- Contact Campus Security or emergency services.
- Warn others nearby if it can be done safely.
- Follow instructions from college officials or emergency responders.
- Report what happened after the immediate danger has passed.
Students should not delay emergency action to collect belongings, finish a class, protect property, record video, or argue about procedure.
Reporting a Safety Concern
When reporting a safety concern, students should give clear information if it is safe to do so.
Useful information includes:
- What happened
- Where it happened
- When it happened
- Who is involved
- Whether anyone is injured
- Whether a weapon is involved
- Whether the danger is still happening
- Which direction a person went, if relevant
- Whether Campus Security, staff, or emergency services are already present
Students should stay factual. They do not need to know every detail before reporting.
Fire, Smoke, or Gas
If a student sees fire, smoke, gas, or another hazardous condition, they should act immediately.
Students should:
- Leave the area if safe
- Alert others nearby
- Pull a fire alarm if one is available and appropriate
- Contact Campus Security or emergency services
- Use stairs, not elevators
- Move away from the building
- Follow evacuation instructions
- Not re-enter until cleared by emergency personnel
If evacuation is blocked, students should move to the safest available location, close doors if possible, avoid smoke, and call for help.
Fire Alarms
Students must treat fire alarms as real unless college officials say otherwise.
During a fire alarm, students should:
- Stop what they are doing
- Leave the building calmly
- Use the nearest safe exit
- Avoid elevators
- Move away from entrances and emergency access areas
- Follow directions from Campus Security, Residence Assistants, faculty, staff, or emergency responders
- Wait for official clearance before returning
Students may face discipline for ignoring alarms, blocking evacuation, tampering with alarms, or interfering with emergency response.
Medical Emergencies
A medical emergency should be reported immediately.
Students should contact Campus Security, emergency services, a Residence Assistant, faculty, staff, or another nearby authority when someone:
- Collapses
- Cannot breathe normally
- Has chest pain
- Is unconscious
- Is confused or unable to respond normally
- Has a seizure
- Is badly bleeding
- Has a serious injury
- May have been poisoned or overdosed
- Appears to be in immediate medical danger
Students should not move an injured person unless there is immediate danger from the location.
A student who is not trained should call for help, stay nearby if safe, and follow instructions from emergency responders.
Threats and Violence
Threats and violence must be reported immediately.
Students should report:
- Threats to harm a person
- Threats against the college
- Physical attacks
- Fighting
- Aggressive pursuit
- Stalking
- Blocking someone from leaving
- Attempts to intimidate someone with force
- Violent messages
- A person claiming they will hurt themselves or others
A threat does not need to be carried out before it is serious.
Students should not dismiss threats as jokes when safety may be at risk.
Weapons
Weapons are not allowed in college spaces unless specifically authorized by college policy or lawful authority.
Students should report weapons immediately.
Weapons may include:
- Firearms
- Knives intended as weapons
- Explosives
- Tasers or similar devices
- Clubs or striking weapons
- Any object used or threatened as a weapon
Students should not try to take a weapon from someone unless there is no other survival option.
Active Shooter or Active Assailant
An active shooter or active assailant situation is an immediate life-threatening emergency.
Students should act quickly and choose the safest option available.
Oakridge follows the basic emergency model:
- Run
- Hide
- Fight
This guidance is for survival. Students should also follow instructions from law enforcement, emergency responders, Campus Security, faculty, or staff when those instructions are available and safe to follow.
Run
Run if there is a safe path away from danger.
Students should:
- Leave immediately if safe
- Move away from the sound or location of danger
- Leave belongings behind
- Help others escape if it does not put them in greater danger
- Keep hands visible when approaching law enforcement
- Warn others not to enter the danger area if it can be done safely
- Call Campus Security or emergency services when safe
Students should not wait to gather property, record video, find friends, or confirm every detail before escaping.
Hide
Hide if escape is not safe.
Students should:
- Move out of view
- Lock or block doors if possible
- Turn off lights if possible
- Silence phones and devices
- Stay low and quiet
- Keep away from windows and doors
- Spread out when possible
- Stay hidden until trusted emergency personnel give clear instructions
Students should not open the door for unknown voices, alarms, or messages unless they are certain it is safe.
Fight
Fight only as a last resort when there is immediate danger and escape or hiding is not possible.
This means acting to survive when the attacker is close and lives are in direct danger.
Students may need to:
- Commit fully to stopping or disrupting the attacker
- Use available objects as shields or distractions
- Throw items
- Work together if possible
- Move decisively
- Escape as soon as there is a chance
Students should not seek out the attacker.
When Law Enforcement Arrives
When law enforcement arrives, their first task is to stop the threat.
Students should:
- Keep hands visible
- Follow instructions immediately
- Avoid sudden movements
- Avoid pointing or shouting over commands
- Drop objects if told to do so
- Leave belongings behind if ordered to evacuate
- Provide information when asked or when it is safe
Law enforcement may move past injured people at first because their priority is stopping the threat. Medical help usually follows after the threat is controlled.
Lockdown or Shelter-in-Place
A lockdown or shelter-in-place order may be given during an emergency.
Students should:
- Stop normal activity
- Move inside if safe
- Stay away from windows
- Lock or secure doors when possible
- Remain quiet
- Silence devices if instructed
- Follow official instructions
- Stay in place until an official all-clear is given
Students should not leave during a lockdown unless official instructions say to evacuate or remaining in place becomes more dangerous than leaving.
Evacuation
An evacuation may be required for fire, gas, violence, structural danger, severe weather, or another emergency.
Students should:
- Leave calmly and promptly
- Use the safest available exit
- Avoid elevators unless emergency personnel direct their use
- Move away from the affected building or area
- Follow instructions from college officials or emergency responders
- Report injured, trapped, or missing people if known
- Wait for official clearance before returning
Students should not stay behind to collect belongings.
Residence Hall Emergencies
Residence halls have special safety concerns because students live there.
Students should report residence emergencies immediately.
Residence emergencies may include:
- Fire or smoke
- Medical emergencies
- Threats or violence
- Weapons
- A person refusing to leave
- Severe intoxication or impairment
- Harassment or stalking
- Unsafe guests
- Locked or blocked exits
- Tampered alarms or locks
- Flooding, gas, or electrical hazards
Students should contact a Residence Assistant, Campus Security, Student Affairs, or emergency services depending on the situation.
Event Emergencies
Students attending events should follow instructions from event organizers, faculty, staff, Campus Security, or emergency responders.
An event may be stopped or cleared when there is:
- Fire
- Medical emergency
- Threats
- Violence
- Crowd danger
- Weapon concern
- Unsafe behavior
- Severe disruption
- Weather or environmental danger
- A situation the organizer cannot safely control
Students should leave promptly when directed.
Refusing to leave may result in Campus Security involvement and disciplinary review.
Harassment, Stalking, and Intimidation
Harassment, stalking, and intimidation can become safety concerns.
Students should report conduct that includes:
- Repeated unwanted contact
- Following someone
- Watching or waiting for someone in a threatening way
- Cornering or blocking someone
- Threatening messages
- Sexual pressure or intimidation
- Retaliation
- Encouraging others to harass someone
- Making someone feel unsafe in class, residence spaces, events, or public areas
Reports may be made to Student Affairs, a Residence Assistant, Campus Security, faculty, staff, the Dean of Student Affairs, or another appropriate authority.
If the situation is immediate or dangerous, students should contact Campus Security.
Dangerous Impairment
A student or guest who appears dangerously impaired may need help.
Students should report dangerous impairment when someone:
- Cannot stand or walk safely
- Cannot stay awake
- Cannot speak clearly
- Cannot respond normally
- Is vomiting repeatedly
- Has difficulty breathing
- Is acting aggressively or unpredictably
- May have consumed alcohol, drugs, or an unknown substance
- May be at risk of harming themselves or others
Students should not leave a dangerously impaired person alone.
Campus Security, a Residence Assistant, Student Affairs, or emergency services should be contacted.
Missing or Unreachable Student Concern
Students should report concern when a student is missing, unreachable, or believed to be in danger.
This may include:
- A student who disappears after making threats of self-harm
- A student who fails to return after a dangerous situation
- A student who is believed to be with an unsafe person
- A student who vanishes from a residence hall, event, or field activity
- A student who may be lost, injured, or unable to ask for help
Students should report the concern to Student Affairs, Residence Life, Campus Security, or another appropriate authority.
Unsafe Spaces or Hazards
Students should report unsafe campus conditions.
Examples include:
- Broken locks
- Blocked exits
- Broken glass
- Exposed wires
- Flooding
- Gas smell
- Smoke
- Loose railings
- Damaged stairs
- Unsafe lighting
- Dangerous debris
- Hazardous materials
- Suspicious packages
- Tampered safety equipment
Students should not assume someone else has already reported the problem.
Suspicious Activity
Students should report suspicious activity when it raises a reasonable safety concern.
This may include:
- A person trying to enter restricted spaces
- A person looking into rooms or offices without reason
- A person tampering with locks, alarms, or equipment
- A person following others in a concerning way
- A person carrying a possible weapon
- A person making threats or violent statements
- A person trying to access residence spaces without permission
Students should avoid accusing others publicly without cause. Reports should be made calmly and factually.
Campus Security Authority
Campus Security may give instructions during safety concerns, events, emergencies, residence incidents, and situations involving public order.
Students are expected to follow reasonable instructions from Campus Security.
Campus Security may:
- Direct students to leave an area
- Remove a person from a space
- Secure a building or room
- Respond to threats or violence
- Assist during medical emergencies
- Support evacuations or lockdowns
- Contact emergency services
- Report conduct concerns for disciplinary review
A student may later report a concern about Campus Security conduct, but they are still expected to follow safety instructions during the incident.
After an Incident
After a serious incident, students may be asked to provide information.
Students should report what they saw or experienced as clearly as possible.
A report may include:
- Date and time
- Location
- People involved
- What happened
- What the student saw or heard
- Whether anyone was injured
- Whether Campus Security or emergency services responded
- Any messages, photos, or records relevant to the incident
Students should avoid spreading rumors after an incident.
Emotional Support After an Emergency
A serious incident may leave students upset, frightened, angry, confused, or unable to continue normal activity.
Students may seek support from:
- Student Affairs
- Residence Assistants
- Faculty advisors
- Instructors
- Dean of Student Affairs
- Campus Security
- Other appropriate college authorities
Students should not be pressured to discuss an incident publicly.
Students who need help after an emergency should ask for support as soon as possible.
False Reports
Students must not knowingly make false safety reports.
False reports can waste emergency resources, harm other people, and create unnecessary fear.
However, a good-faith report that turns out to be mistaken is not the same as a false report.
Students should report genuine concerns even if they are not completely sure.
Retaliation Is Prohibited
Students may not retaliate against someone for reporting a safety concern, calling Campus Security, asking for help, serving as a witness, or cooperating with an investigation.
Retaliation may include:
- Threats
- Harassment
- Intimidation
- Social pressure
- Exclusion
- Rumor-spreading
- Abuse of student leadership
- Attempts to silence or punish the person
Retaliation may result in disciplinary action.
General Rule
Students should take safety seriously.
Report danger early.
Follow emergency instructions.
Leave when directed.
Do not interfere with emergency response.
In any emergency, protecting life comes first.