Providing an Around-The-Clock Sense of Safety
Around the clock, on holidays, and even during a pandemic, Babson Public Safety officers are there to protect and support the Babson community.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Deputy Chief Erin Carcia and the team of employees have remained steadfast in continuing their responsibilities, and mitigating risk, especially for students and essential employees who have had to remain on campus.
Here to Help
Although most students have left, some have been approved to stay due to extenuating circumstances, and are now unable to travel for the foreseeable future.
“The level of uncertainty can be concerning for everyone, yet we’re working together as a team,” she said.
It has been small acts of kindness, the showing of appreciation, and acknowledgement of effort, she said, that have kept officers motivated during unsettled times.
“Being a member of the Babson community for the last nine years and managing crises, I can attest that people here truly care about each other and take the time to check in and offer help. The sense of team goes a long way,” added Carcia.
“Every day’s different, we have to quickly and effectively manage many inputs,” she said, noting how advisories such as a government order can quickly shift priorities. “Building a positive relationship with the Babson community is the most important thing we can do.”
A New Normal
One of the department’s primary objectives is usually to engage the Babson community through programming, including CPR, workplace safety, and self-defense classes. Because of the shift to virtual learning, those efforts have been temporarily halted, and focus has shifted to tending to the needs of those still on campus.
“We try to integrate ourselves, (yet) this specific type of crisis makes it so much harder for us,” Carcia said.
The team’s priority is “to reassure that we’re there to help … establishing that level of trust and care,” she shared. So, students “can put that face to that name, and say, ‘I know that I can give them a call.’ ”
The Babson Public Safety Department operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of outside circumstances. At the end of the day, it’s the sense of community at Babson that officers still enjoy the most.
“This campus provides a much different feeling than a town or a city, there’s a whole different level of energy,” Carcia said.
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