Marquette University and the University of New Mexico announced the creation of departments to help improve campus safety and security.
Marquette President Michael Lovell announced the creation of a university police department on April 24, and the University of New Mexico began using a student-run organization to patrol campus and provide emergency medical care to anyone who needs it.
Marquette’s police department will be established May 1 with the swearing in of Police Chief Paul Mascari, who is expected to swear in 19 current Department of Public Safety officers later that day. The necessary training and certification requirements will be conducted over the summer. 35 commissioned officers will be in place to start to 2015-2016 academic year, according to m.jsonline.com. President Lovell said the decision comes after months of research and consultation by school officials.
The University of New Mexico’s Lobos Emergency Medical Services program, also known as Lobos EMS, is a student volunteer organization that recently started putting qualified crewmembers on bikes to patrol campus and respond to health emergencies. Volunteers are CPR certified and in some cases qualified emergency medical technicians and paramedics. They are equipped with medical supplies needed to perform basic life support and work weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lobos EMS will also report any problems or unsafe conditions to authorities, improving overall campus security, according to news.unm.edu.