Stay Safe

Public Safety is available on campus 24/7. They offer the Bearcat Guardian mobile app that allows you to turn your cell phone into a safety device. In addition, they offer safety notifications, fire prevention and safety tips, and bicycle registration. 

Public Safety responds to emergency calls via 911, and offers assistance from Help Phones located throughout campus.

Five-minute loaner keys are available at the front desk of your hall if you become locked out of your room, and temporary keys or access cards are available from the front desk of your community for short-term use if you misplace your keys but expect to find them.

If your keys are lost or stolen, report to the front desk immediately and lock changes will be ordered. Refer to your Housing Agreement for replacement cost. Keep your keys and your UC ID securely with you at all times for your own convenience and for everyone’s safety. 

• Residence hall security policies help protect everyone’s personal safety.
• Residence hall entrances are locked 24 hours a day. Only residents, their escorted guests, and authorized persons are permitted to enter the halls.
• Carry your University ID (Bearcat Card) at all times. You must show your Bearcat Card upon request.
• Misrepresentation or dishonesty associated with entry or guest escort will result in disciplinary action.
• All guests must be escorted at all times. Please apprise all potential guests, including family members, of this policy in advance. University Housing and Resident Education and Development reserves the right to institute guest check-in procedures as needed. When in effect, guest check-in may require both host and guest(s) to surrender IDs while checking into a UC hall. 

Bearcat Guardian is a state-of-the-art safety app that allows you to turn your cell phone into a safety device. It works on any mobile phone running on any US-based mobile carrier network. Please visit the Bearcat Guardian webpage for more information.

For more information on subscribing/registering for text and email services that are used for communication during emergencies, see UC Public Safety's Emergency Management website. 

“Shelter-in-place” usually refers to an emergency situation in which potentially hazardous materials have been released into the outdoor air. If a shelter-in-place warning is issued, an announcement will be made over your hall’s public address system, or you will be informed by staff. You will be instructed to close all windows and exterior doors, and you may be instructed to turn off air conditioning or heating fans in your room. Remain indoors and follow the instructions given over the emergency announcement system and by your hall’s staff members. Unless informed otherwise, it is safe to continue all other normal indoor activities as usual during a shelter-in-place warning. In the event of a building evacuation (fire alarm) during a shelter-in-place situation, residence hall staff and Public Safety officials will direct you to an alternate indoor location in another building.

In some campus or neighborhood emergency situations, such as a shooting, you may be advised to remain in your residence hall, and you may be further advised to stay in your room or suite behind a locked door. In most cases like this, a long, steady alarm tone is followed by an announcement with instructions.

Stratford Heights and some block lease housing locations do not have the same alarm system as other UC halls. Contact your hall staff for more information.

The university understands how traumatic experiencing sexual assault can be and seeks to provide a variety of resources to assist you. If you experienced sexual assault, you are encouraged to report the crime to UC Police at 911 or 513-556-1111 and to seek medical care. Reporting the crime to the police does not require that you pursue prosecution. However, if you are seeking confidential support, on-campus resources are available on the Title IX website.

University employees (including Resident Advisors—RAs) are required by law to report alleged felonies, including sexual assault. RAs are trained to inform/remind people of their status as a mandatory reporter if/when they believe a reportable incident may be shared. This is to ensure you are aware of their obligations and is in no way intended to discourage you from sharing information or reporting crimes to your RA. The university investigates all allegations of sexual assault. The university’s Title IX Coordinator can be reached at 513-556-3349.

The University Health Services (UHS) is in The Lindner Athletic Center (Main Campus). Call 513-556-2564 or visit the UHS website for more information, including available services, appointment scheduling, walk-in services, and non-hospital urgent care centers that accept UC Student Health Insurance.

If you are involved in a medical emergency in which hall staff respond, they may call for an ambulance even if you have not requested one. Residence hall staff members are not allowed to transport a student to or from the hospital under any circumstances. Upon release from the hospital, students are responsible for their own transportation back to the residence hall, so students are encouraged to retain emergency funds for this transportation. While hall staff members cannot transport students, they may be able to help students identify alternate means of return. Students are strongly discouraged from walking back from any hospital. 

In a weather emergency, follow the instructions communicated via the public address system or those given to you by hall staff or safety personnel. In the event of a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning, weather sirens and automated messages sound in most halls. Stay indoors and move to a designated severe weather shelter area. In most halls, shelter areas are found at the lowest levels of the halls or in interior stairwells. Avoid windows and remain in the designated area until you are instructed to do otherwise.

Information regarding registered sex offenders is available on the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office website or by calling 513-946-6222. All University of Cincinnati residence halls are within 1,000 feet of local schools. Registered sex offenders must comply with relevant laws.