Pa. AG Outlines College Campus Safety Recommendations Report At Pitt

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's an emotional time when parents drop their kids off at college. There are a lot concerns, including their safety.

So, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office now has recommendations to make college campuses safer.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the Office's campus safety recommendations at the Student Union at the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Watch the press conference here:

The report is divided into four categories: those that are global recommendations, sexual assault prevention, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and mental health services.

"What parents shouldn't be feeling when they drop their students or kids off is worry," said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

The goal of the campus safety initiative is to help Pennsylvania colleges and universities improve their safety practices.

"We, in law enforcement, have a responsibility to partner with them to help enhance the positive experience that students can have on a great campus like Pitt," said Shapiro.

Sixty-seven colleges and universities were part of prior conversations with the AG's Office to help craft and guide the report recommendations. It was also prompted by startling facts, like 1,700 college students a year die from alcohol related-injuries.

"While we know that many students suffer from substance abuse and disorders, they feel normalized in the activity, but they feel stigmatized and isolated when they go to seek treatment," Dr. Michael Lynch, medical director of Pittsburgh Poison Control.

Thirty-one recommendations are explained in the report on topics that are tough to breach, like sexual assault.

"We also know that one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted during their college experience, usually by someone the survivor knows and trusts," said Tiffany Chang Lawson, Executive Director of the Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

The hope is that every improvement will help reduce dangers and tragedies.

"Listen to these needs and implement these recommendations so students like me can focus on our education and not have to worry about their safety," said Sarah Stone, a senior student at Pitt.

If you would like to read the AG's report on campus safety recommendations, click here: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-OAG-Campus-Safety-Recommendations.pdf