Wright State Police | Photo by Soham Parikh | Edited by Kayli Thompson
While Greene County remains a red alert level 3 under the county’s health department advisory alert system, a collective effort between the Wright State University (WSU) Police Department (PD) and the City of Fairborn PD is minimizing the spread of the coronavirus both on and off campus.
Working relationship
“The police department has a great working relationship with the university,” said Lt. Kurt Holden of the WSU PD. “Our department has been involved since the beginning of COVID-19 to assist students, staff and faculty in providing a safe and secure environment.”
Lt. Holden says that communication amongst WSU’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) and police has been crucial in the fight against the coronavirus at the Dayton campus.
“The department’s leadership has been involved in the COVID-19 task force and other forms of COVID-19 planning/response on multiple occasions,” Lt. Holden said.
Communication between university police and university officials is not limited to just EHS, but extends to other university officials as well.
“Our police department has had meetings and conversations with many members of the university community in regards to COVID-19,” Lt. Holden said.
Sgt. Ben Roman of Fairborn PD says that his department has continually maintained a good working relationship with the university even before the start of the coronavirus, staff and students included.
“We value them as members of our community,” Sgt. Roman said. “We strive to educate the public in regards to safe practices and current restrictions/curfews.”
WSU compliance
The hard work put in by both Fairborn PD and WSU PD would be null and void if students, staff and faculty of the WSU community didn’t follow the guidelines put in place by the CDC and the public health departments, but fortunately for all involved, this isn’t the case at all.
“As to my knowledge, Wright State University students have been doing a good job in complying with current mandates and restrictions,” Sgt. Roman said. “The Fairborn Police Department appreciates all members of our community, including Wright State University students, for doing their part to stay safe and healthy.”
WSU PD echoed this sense of pride within the Wright State community, saying that while some minor violations of coronavirus safety protocols have occurred off-campus, nothing major has been brought to their attention.
In the event that a major violation was found, action steps would be taken by the university.
“Their actions would be documented by either hall staff or law enforcement and referred to Student Conduct,” Said Lt. Holden. “Sanctions for students could include a warning, probation, loss of campus housing, or suspension for repeated or egregious behavior.”
Raider pride
Fairborn resident and WSU alumnus Zack Kriel says that he is proud of his alma mater and the hard work put in by both departments to keep the community safe.
“I still live in Fairborn, so it eases my mind to know that not only is my alma mater doing everything they can to keep people safe, but my city’s police officers are doing just the same. In a time when it can be hard to find peace of mind, this has done just that,” said Kriel.
Kriel says that he has noticed an increased awareness of the coronavirus in the local community in recent weeks.
