Members of the UC Merced Police Department visited several campus locations last week to play a new question-and-answer game called “Your Campus, Your Police.”
The idea stemmed from a brainstorm session to find ways to increase community engagement and pass along vital information. The department regularly tables outside the Lantern and other places to let students, staff and faculty know about programs and services they provide to the campus community and beyond. The goal of the new outreach is to bring the department to individuals/groups.
“Students, faculty and staff are always encouraged to interact with our officers and Community Service Officers as they patrol campus,” Lt. George Gongora said. “We want to make our campus community more comfortable with members of the police department, as well as introduce them to many services and programs we provide.”
Community Service Officers Itzel Franco, a sociology major from Hayward, and Marissa Cano, a management and business economics major from Montclair, developed a list of 10 questions and answers related to the police department, such as “If you lost something, where would you go on campus to find it?” and “What are two programs the police department provides?” Then they approached individuals in locations like the Housing and Residence Life Office, Office of Student Life, Transportation and Parking Services, and Facilities Management.
Students and staff members eagerly took part in the new initiative and earned a prize regardless if they got the correct answers to the questions.
Some individuals learned about the campus’s mass notification system, UCM Alert, and were shown how to sign up or update their personal contact information to receive important emergency emails and texts.
The police department plans to host events like this and “Meet the UC Merced PD,” held earlier today, as another way to interact with the campus community.
