General Safety Information

University Residences & Dining Services takes pride in providing a safe, educational environment for your student. However, we also insist that each student take responsibility for his or her own safety.

There are several preventative measures that your student can take to help ensure that he or she has a fun and safe time on campus. Please encourage him or her to follow the following guidelines regarding safety:

• Lock your door, even if just going down the hall.
• Do not leave tempting valuables visible inside your parked car.
• Record serial numbers and description of valuable property.
• Do not put your address on key ring.
• Do not put your BuckID and room key on the same key ring.
• Avoid walking alone at night.
• Always lock your car.
• Use well lighted pathways at night.
• Use the campus escort service by calling 614-292-3322.
• Use the blue light emergency phones around campus when you need help.
• Call 911 if you have a serious emergency.
• Carry your BuckID with you at all times. The residence halls are locked 24 hours a day so you'll need it to get in.
• Remember that residence hall staff members - RAs and hall directors are always there to assist you. Make sure you contact them if you need help! 

Insuring Your Student’s Belongings

The Terms and Conditions of the Housing Contract clearly state that the university does not assume responsibility for any resident’s, guest’s, or other person’s loss of money or valuables, or the loss of or damage to property, sustained on or about the Housing and Campus Dining Services premises. It always makes sense to protect personal belongings in the instance of fire, theft or other unexpected events that may occur.

The university recommends that the resident contact his/ her local insurance carrier concerning the availability of protection against such losses.

The following are alternatives you may pursue:

• Students’ belongings may be covered by their parents’ homeowners insurance under a “coverage away from premises” clause. You will need to check with the insurance agent to see if 1) the student is still considered a member of the household, and 2) the coverage is adequate based on the value of the belongings.
• The student may contact any number of local insurance agents to obtain appropriate renters or homeowners insurance for his or her needs.

Here are a few facts about renters insurance:

• Policies are not very expensive: Depending on the coverage and deductible you may pay approximately $100 for a full year of coverage
• If you have auto insurance, you may receive a multi-policy discount by using that company to cover your personal belongings with a renter's insurance policy.
• When shopping for a policy that is right for you, consider the total replacement value of items at the university, as well as the deductible you choose (usually $250 or $500 per instance)
• Jewelry and other property that is of very high value may be additional cost to insure (depending on the value of the item).

* The best advice is to use a phone directory (yellow pages) to call and compare several companies to see which insurance company will be best for your coverage needs*

*Please note that OSU does not endorse a specific insurance company

Fire Safety Information

University Residences & Dining Services is committed to maintaining a safe living environment for our residents.  We have provided links below that provide additional, helpful safety and security information to help keep students safe while on campus.

Over the past few years, University Residences & Dining Services has completed the following fire safety and prevention enhancements:

• 100% of rooms are equipped with a smoke alarm connected to a supervised fire alarm system.
• When a fire alarm is sounded in a residence hall, the entire hall staff responds to investigate and assist in evacuation.  The alarm connects to the Columbus Fire Department and The Ohio State University Police, both of whom respond immediately.  Should the staff discover that is it a false alarm, they call 911 and provide that information.
• Residence Hall staffs are trained in fire alarm operation/investigation techniques and evacuation assistance, as well as spotting fire hazards in the building, such as unapproved cooking appliances and smoking violations.
• Residents are given 2 hours of fire prevention/evacuation training per year, one hour in a mandatory meeting the day after the halls open for the fall, and approximately another hour throughout the year in the form of responses to fire alarms (mostly false alarms), and safety messages communicated as part of other regular communication to residents.
• New fire systems exceed code requirements with detector devices in non-required areas, sounder bases in student rooms and 24/7 monitoring.  Installed smoke detectors in all apartments, residence hall student rooms and loading dock areas are hardwired and include a battery back-up.
• New fire alarms systems have been installed in all campus high rise buildings: Lincoln Tower, Morrill Tower (1999), Jones Tower (2001), Park Hall, Smith Hall, Steeb Hall, Stradley Hall (2003), Drackett & Taylor Towers (2004), Morrison Tower, Siebert Hall (2005). The north campus low rise buildings are currently being upgraded.  The south campus low rise buildings are scheduled for 2008-2009.
• Fire protection sprinkler systems have been installed in Archer House, Neilwood Gables, the Worthington Building, the Neil Building and the Scholars Houses.  In addition, fire suppression systems were installed in both Lincoln and Morrill Towers.

Related links:

OSU Campus Safety Information
Fire Safety Information