North Texas Daily

Linda Kessler / Staff Writer

UNT currently holds the first place position in competition to win a $200,000 safety grant.

Stanley Security is offering the grant in an effort to make schools more secure by helping them to purchase security products and spread safety and security awareness.

“The safety and security of our campus is and will continue to be a top priority,” emergency management coordinator Brad Scott said. “Our standards are high and I believe this grant will help us to continue to meet and exceed the expectations that we have for our campus.”

Dean of Students Maureen McGuinness said she believes in general, students feel safe on campus, and UNT wants to make sure it’s doing everything it needs to keep campus safe.

“UNT takes safety and security very seriously and there are no issues with our current standards,” McGuinness said. “And this is an opportunity to possibly be given a significant amount of money to enhance what we do.”

The committee who gives out the grant will make recommendations to the administration of the winning schools regarding what they should use the money for, McGuinness said.

UNT has security features to help ensure the safety of its students, including emergency phones located around campus with a direct line to the UNT Police Department, the e-ride late-night shuttle service and lighted pathways.

The UNT police department, SGA and various other faculty from areas such as Risk Management and Facilities conduct a Safety Walk each semester where they check lights, sidewalks, bike racks, bushes, trees and handicap access to ensure the safety and security of the campus.

“The safety walk is a great way for campus representatives to come together and address these issues,” Scott said. “We use the safety walk to identify safety concerns that need to be addressed.”

Provided UNT gets the grant, Deputy Chief of Police Ed Reynolds said there’s a whole range of products that Stanley Security offers that the school could use.

“If you look at our crime rate compared to most major areas, it’s relatively low,” Reynolds said. “So I think the campus is obviously safe, but I think the grant itself is going to give us an opportunity to look at some things for campus, especially when budget dollars are tight, and do it collaboratively with administration.”

How to vote:

– Go to www.stanleysaferschools.com

– Text “untedu” to 334455

– Tweet using the hashtags #untedu and #STANLEYSecurity

Current leaderboard:

1. University of North Texas

2. Grand Valley State University

3. The University of Texas at Arlington

4. Western Kentucky University

5. Kent State University

6. Indian River State College

7. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

8. Broward College

9. Florida Southwestern State College

10. University of California