Parent Times Briefs University Calendar The University of Iowa is ranked as one of the safest institutions in the Big Ten. But that doesn't mean it is always safe for all students, says Maggie Van Oel, director of Residence Services. The University tries to inform all students continually about safety measures they can take. Residence hall staff, the Department of Public Safety, Women's Resource and Action Center, and the Rape Victims Advocacy Program remind students about safe practices on bulletin boards and in The Daily Iowan. Resident assistants provide students on their floors with information.
Safety is featured in the orientation and housing handbooks that students receive.
Other tips are on various web sites. But students must take responsibility for their own safety and their own possessions, Van Oel says. When students prop open a locked entrance door so their friends can come in late at night, they may endanger an entire residence hall. When a student sees a stranger walking in the halls and doesn't confront him or her, other students may be endangered. When students leave their doors unlocked while they run downtown for a pizza, they shouldn't be surprised if something is missing when they get back.