Campus Safety

There are emergency phones/towers located throughout the campus. Pushing the button on an emergency phone automatically connects the caller to Westlands Desk. In addition, please make a note of these important phone numbers:

Sarah Lawrence College campus safety and security measures include the following:

• 24/7 security services
• Public Safety & Security vehicle and foot patrols (uniformed)
• Resident Public Safety Director
• Sprinkler systems
• Fire and burglar alarms
• Emergency phones located throughout the campus
• Shuttle (van) service to local train station
• Campus shuttle service
• Safety workshops
• Self-defense workshops
• Defibrillators on campus
• Campus Alert emergency notification system (e-mail, text, phone) available to all students, faculty, and staff

Swindford Annex (formerly Westlands Desk) is covered 24 hours a day and is the central dispatch location for security and the student shuttle. When you pick up any of the emergency phones located around campus or dial the emergency number (2222) you will reach us. We ask you to not use the 2222 emergency number for any calls other than emergencies in order to keep the line clear for real emergencies.  Dial extension 2209 for non-emergency phone calls.

Students, faculty, and staff who are on the College's medical transport list are transported throughout the campus by security personnel during daytime hours before the campus shuttle starts running.

Visit the Disability Services site to learn more about the College's medical transport services

The Campus Facilities Department maintains the college facilities and grounds with a concern for safety and security. Reports of safety hazards such as broken windows, locks and lighting should be reported immediately for prompt repair. Security officers regularly submit lighting and physical security reports to the Campus Facilities Department for appropriate actions.

Students are free to call Westlands Desk at 914.395.2209 to request special patrols of specific areas/buildings of the campus whenever needed.

• Try not to walk on Kimball Avenue at night; use interior pathways instead.
• Always lock your bedroom, apartment, and/or exterior doors.
• Never leave any valuables out in the open and walk away from them, even if only for a few minutes.
• Use the SLC Identiguard program.
• When walking at night, try to walk in groups or use the campus shuttle.
• When walking, plan your route in advance and know where to find emergency phones.
• Immediately report any suspicious persons or activity to security and the police.
• When not in your room, close and lock all windows, especially windows that can be easily reached from ground level.
• If you go inside your room and find evidence of a break-in, don't disturb or touch anything. The police can possibly dust for fingerprints. Call security immediately.
• If you spot a burglar leaving your residence, don't try to stop him/her. Call security and the police immediately.
• Have all deliveries sent to Westlands Desk and meet the delivery person there.
• If you are ever facing an armed criminal, the risk of injury is minimized by cooperation, avoidance of sudden moves, and giving the criminal what is wanted.
• If it will be dark when you return to your car, park in a place that will be well lit and not deserted.
• Have your keys ready when returning to your car.

During orientation at the start of each academic year, the Director of Public Safety & Security leads a mandatory security presentation to all new students. During this program, the director discusses crimes that have occurred at the campus in the past and ways to prevent being a victim of crime through various safety tips. An overview of the College’s security program is also given. All incoming students receive a security informational pamphlet during orientation. This pamphlet outlines campus security procedures and practices, as well as encourages the campus community to look out for themselves and one another. Each year, during Club Day on Westlands South Lawn, security gives out this security informational pamphlet to all people who visit the security table. The security informational booklet is also given to all new employees of the college. In addition, each year the Public Safety & Security Department and the Physical Education Department sponsor a crime prevention/self-defense seminar for anyone who wishes to attend. This self-defense seminar teaches people simple maneuvers to fend off an attacker and escape.

Security has also designed a number of programs and workshops to inform and educate students about campus safety and security issues and procedures. Security offers these workshops each semester on topics including personal safety awareness, safety tips, fire safety, and self-defense. At the beginning of the academic year, resident assistants have meetings with their new advisees in which they speak about security issues. Information is also provided to students and employees regularly through weekly student life meetings, brochures, and the student newspaper. When time is of the essence, information is released to the college community via emailed security alerts and advisories.

The cooperation and involvement of all members of the community in the College's safety and security programs is absolutely necessary for the programs to succeed. Students must assume responsibility for their own personal safety and the security of their belongings by taking simple, common-sense precautions. For example: Although the campus is well lit, all students should use the campus escort shuttle or travel in pairs on college pathways when returning to residence halls late at night. Room doors and windows should always be locked when they are unoccupied. Valuable items should be engraved and cataloged by the Security Department. Students should always report any suspicious-looking individuals to security.

The College has both single-sex and coed residence halls. Some of the residence halls are multi-usage buildings with classrooms and/or offices. Residence halls are kept locked 24 hours a day. Multi-usage residence halls without swipe card access are opened and closed by security personnel on a specific schedule. Students are issued keys or cards to the outside doors of the residences and are required to keep them locked at all times. Propping doors open is strictly prohibited.

The College has a resident Student Affairs staff, including administration, graduate assistants, and student resident advisors. Administrators from Student Affairs and Campus Facilities are on-call 24 hours a day. The College also expects students to be responsible for a number of measures to ensure that they and their possessions are protected as much as possible.

All deliveries coming onto campus—such as flowers, FedEx, and food—must be made to Westlands Desk. Students should not give out individual dormitory addresses to vendors nor should students prop doors open for them. Delivery persons are strangers and should not have privileged access to the dorms. The proper procedure for deliveries is to have them delivered to Westlands Desk, which calls students when a delivery arrives. Security enforces this rule by escorting all delivery persons approaching campus to Westlands. Vendors who persist in making direct deliveries will be banned.

Visitors to Residence Halls and the campus in general must abide by the College's Visitor Policy; more information on this and other College policies can be found in the Student Handbook.

Security officers patrol all residence halls. Students, faculty, and staff are required to carry proper college ID cards and must show them upon request to any security officer.

The Public Safety & Security Department consists of a Director, an Assistant Director, a Fire Safety Director, a field manager, two sergeants, three corporals, 21 officers, two Westlands Desk staffers, two Westlands Gate monitors, three Heimbold Visual Arts Center monitors, and four Bronxville train station shuttle drivers. The department also oversees a student component that staffs the student shuttle and Westlands Gate watch. 

Security Officers

Security officers are trained, certified, and registered in compliance with the New York State Security Act of 1992. The officers receive additional training by the College in various areas, including the use of AEDs, sexual crimes training, fire safety, and CPR/first aid. Officers must obey and enforce the laws and regulations of the Federal Government, New York State, the City of Yonkers, and Sarah Lawrence College. Security officers do not have arrest powers above those of a private citizen. They do have the authority to ask persons on campus property for identification to determine whether those individuals have lawful business at Sarah Lawrence College. Security officers also have the authority to issue parking tickets on campus. Parking tickets issued to students are billed to their college financial accounts. The College works closely with state and local police agencies/authorities, as appropriate.

Security officers patrol the campus on foot and in vehicles throughout the day and night. In addition to their regular patrols, officers respond immediately to emergencies, escort students when the Student Shuttle is not running, open and close various facilities, patrol parking areas, issue parking tickets, control and respond to all burglar and fire alarms, and respond when students, faculty, or staff are locked out of dorms or offices.