USD students urged to take precautions 

Lili Kim / Asst. News Editor

On Aug. 28, USD community members received a notification from Public Safety announcing two reports of burglary. Two more reports, both specifying bicycle thefts, were announced on Sept. 7, followed promptly by another two reports of burglary incidents on Sept. 9, for a total of six reported thefts in the span of the first week and half of classes.

According to the Public Safety reports, all six incidents occurred in or around Valley A, a first-year residence hall located in the valley area of campus. While no suspect information or means of entry were released, James Miyashiro, Chief and Vice President of Public Safety, gave his insight on the matter.“There were no signs of forced entry, so whoever stole anything might have come through an open window or door,” Miyashiro said.

Chief Miyashiro recommends that while students might want to leave their door open for air ventilation or even socialization, it’s important to keep doors, windows and window screens locked and secured to avoid incidents like this. Many students have heeded this advice, taking more precautions around their dorm.

“I used to leave my window open to let air in, but now I keep it closed,” said first-year and Valley A resident Emma Oskorus.

Cassandra Diaz, another Valley A resident, explained the need to adapt to life around dozens of new people. 

“You’re used to living with your family that you trust, but now you’re living with people you don’t know, so you have to adjust to living on campus.” She added that these incidents can oftentimes be preventable by being wary of leaving valuable items visible near windows or social gatherings getting out of hand.

Similarly, Public Safety was recently notified of another safety incident that occurred on Sunday, Sept.10, involving a non-campus community member following a female student on Linda Vista Road onto campus and indecently exposing himself near Camino Hall. The student videoed the man and posted it to her social media, alerting fellow first-years. However, Public Safety was not notified until the following day. Due to the delay of the report, no action was taken in removing the man from campus during the time of the incident.

Chief Miyashiro told The USD Vista that if Public Safety had been contacted, officers would have arrived on the scene within one to two minutes to investigate. He urged students to not hesitate to reach out with concerns.

“Even if [students] have doubts whether it’s a crime or not, just the fact that something is suspicious warrants them to call us,” he said. “We’ll never say, ‘you shouldn’t have called us for that.’ We’ll always take the call and investigate.”

According to Chief Miyashiro, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Chief Miyashiro gave examples of non-emergency situations in which students can call P-Safe using (619) 260-7777, such as seeing someone walking around residence halls who doesn’t appear to be a resident, or someone looking into cars or trying to open locked doors. Officers can also help students search for and recover lost items on campus. 

“I’d rather be called than have something happen,” he echoed.

To include student insight on security matters, Public Safety also manages a student advisory board, which any student is invited to join. “We’re always looking to see what students want,” said Chief Miyashiro. It was this student board that enacted the new emergency text messaging system, which automatically sends texts to all students on campus after a public safety incident. Students interested in joining the advisory board can contact publicsafety@sandiego.edu. 

Public Safety recommended students to make smart decisions on keeping their dorms secure and be aware of suspicious activity to stay safe.

Photo Courtesy: Emma-Kate Squires/The USD Vista