Friday, December 21, 2012

Long Beach State.

Go Beach! Just thought I'd share this interesting article regarding safety at my college alma mater, Cal State Long Beach, that was published last month. Nice to know that CSULB is near the top of the list in regards to on-campus security around the United States; all my school needs now is a friggin' football team.

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CSULB Ranked 7th Most Secure in Nation (November 30)

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been recognized as the seventh "most secure" university/college in the nation by Security Magazine in its 2012 "Security 500" rankings, which were released in the publication's November issue.

Only 22 universities and colleges from across the country were recognized in this year's rankings in the category of Education (University), and CSULB was the only four-year California institution to be recognized.

The top three ranking schools included the University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida and Drexel University. Meanwhile, CSULB ranked ahead the likes of Ohio State, University of South Carolina and Duke University. At No. 10, the Yosemite Community College District was the other California school ranked.

"That Security Magazine has once again recognized Cal State Long Beach as one of the nation's safest large university campuses points to how this campus has focused on the security of our students and other campus members as a top priority," said CSULB President F. King Alexander. "Students and their parents, as well as our faculty, staff and community visitors, can be assured that no measure that secures this campus has been overlooked. The commitment of our excellent University Police Department and the ongoing awareness of our entire campus community is obvious as we continue to be recognized for the safety of our university."

Security Magazine's rankings are broken down into "18 vertical markets" or business sectors, enabling similar organizations to compare programs. Among the metrics collected this year in producing the rankings were security spending per person (those the organization protects), the number of security officers/employees, and the facilities used by the security officers.

The purpose of the "Security 500," according to magazine's officials, is to create a reliable database to measure an organization compared to others and create a benchmarking program among security organizations. The results enable these groups to know where they stand as a basis of an on-going peer review process.

"The safety of our students, faculty and staff will continue to be of paramount importance and a priority for the Cal State Long Beach Police Department," said CSULB Police Chief Fernando Solorzano. "This institution of higher learning represents some of the brightest and academically talented students in our state, and we are proud to provide the highest levels of service and safety for our campus community."

Among the more recent enhancements that have added to the CSULB Police Department's ability to keep the campus safe include a camera system that gives the department the ability to monitor activities across the campus grounds and facilities and assists in its crime prevention efforts. The department also oversees an emergency communications system that can alert the entire campus community in the event of an emergency.

"Our police department will continue to provide a safe, secure and meaningful learning environment. We will accomplish this by partnering with our community, using advanced technologies and investing in our highly skilled personnel," Solorzano added. "We are proud that CSULB has received this recognition as being one of the safest universities in the nation, and we will strive to improve and build on our successes to provide the safe environment that we have come to expect on this campus."

Security Magazine is the premier security and safety resource for a wide variety of industries and environments.

Written by Rick Gloady - LongBeachcomber.com

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Me (with the purple lei) and my classmates after our commencement ceremony at CSULB in May of 2004.

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