Dear Barnard Community, 

We are each preparing for a return to fall semester with new ways of doing and being in the Barnard community, with a primary focus on health and safety for all. As part of this planning process we write to share information about campus safety resources and our shared responsibilities as community members. 

Barnard Public Safety provides a wide range of support for the campus community, serving 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year. It is helpful to understand the elements of safety to inform how we approach these responsibilities along with members of the Barnard community. Safety includes physical security and access to campus, fire and life safety, crime prevention and interpersonal safety, and psychosocial safety and well being.

Accessing Campus & Physical Security

In order to maintain safe distancing and density on campus, access to campus will be more limited than usual. Current Barnard or Columbia identification will be needed at locations across campus for ease of access. The main gate, at Broadway and 117th Street, is the primary entrance to campus. The gates at 119th Street and Reid stairway will not be open for regular access for the remainder of this year. Vendors need to show identification and check in with Public Safety as well as follow enhanced health and safety guidelines. Guests and visitors will be limited and require prior approval to receive instructions with regard to access.

Although much has changed about NYC since the start of the pandemic, the same safety practices that we have always recommended still apply. These include:

• Walk with friends or in a group; if by yourself, keep others in sight
• Use well lit and well populated routes
• Limit distractions such as earbud volume, texting while walking, etc.
• Trust your instincts, and change your route if you sense danger
• Be familiar with where you are heading; check directions in advance of travels
• Have your cell phone with you; let someone know where you are headed and/or when to expect you
• Secure valuables (cash, cards, tech devices) in an inner pocket or within your bag
• Add value to your Metrocard at the start of your trip if you do not have a monthly pass so your card value can cover your return
• Look for the subway stations with the Green Bulbs at the entrance, which indicate open stations (a red bulb indicates exit only)

Several transportation options are also available:  

• New for this fall, Barnard has joined Columbia University in offering the Via ride share service using an on-demand app-based system. This new service is available to current Barnard students during the evening hours (6pm-4am; start time will adjust, as it gets dark earlier, later in the semester) starting August 17, 2020. This point-to-point service is limited shared ride within a geo-fenced area of the Morningside and Manhattanville area and may be especially helpful for students living on or close to campus. Initially there will be a limit of a single rider under current New York State COVID-19 guidelines (no more than 3 passengers will be permitted per ride should the state guidelines loosen).  A typical wait time for each ride is expected to be ten minutes or less.  
• During peak night hours (9pm-1am), the Barnard Public Safety Shuttle will operate between the main gate and the exterior Barnard Residence Halls. The schedule will begin September 8, 2020 and will be posted on the Public Safety website.
• Additionally, the Columbia University Intercampus Shuttle provides service to an expanded geography of the area from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m weekdays. Consult the Transportation website for routes, maps and information on additional shuttles. 

Patrol visibility and emergency call boxes  

In Morningside Heights, Barnard Public Safety, Columbia University, and other neighboring schools provide security presence and blue light emergency call boxes. Blue light emergency call boxes are posted in locations within and surrounding the greater campus area. The call boxes connect directly to Barnard or one of our affiliate’s public safety departments and should be used if you are in need of help or feel threatened in any way. Look for the blue light call boxes on your walking route(s).

Safe Havens program

Neighborhood merchants continue to partner with the University to provide Safe Havens in the Morningside, Manhattanville and Columbia Medical Center communities. Participating businesses display a Red Lion logo in their window. If you enter these businesses, the merchant will assist you in phoning Barnard or Columbia University’s Department of Public Safety, or the police, and wait for security personnel to respond.

Community Responsibility 

As students return or arrive at Barnard for the first time, we want to stress that the community members of Morningside Heights and Harlem have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. As a college, we not only take the health and safety measures on Barnard’s campus seriously but will work with community groups to ensure that Barnard students are abiding by health and safety measures when in and around the neighborhood. Wearing a face covering is required to enter all business in and around Barnard and NYC. Congregating in groups is discouraged. We ask that students engage in the neighborhood with an awareness of the responsibility we hold for controlling the transmission of the virus for the residents of Morningside Heights and Harlem. 

Crime Prevention & Personal Safety

Crime prevention is everyone’s business. Across the nation in the wake of COVID-19, there has been a rise in crime in metropolitan areas, including New York City. In Morningside Heights, there have been steady reports of theft of packages from unattended lobbies – often related to doors being propped or individuals being buzzed into a building. There is incidence of theft of bicycles from street racks, commonly a swift removal due to either a bicycle not properly secured or cable locks being cut. There has also been an increase in the assaults, burglaries, and/or robberies reported in the area (most recently, on July 19 at 122nd & Broadway, and in June, on West 111th near Broadway, and Tiemann Place and Broadway). Looking out for one another, we can each take measures to reduce opportunity for incidence. 

In New York City, there are many resources for crime prevention including the city’s Crime Prevention Book, Barnard and Columbia safety and prevention information, and the NYPD 26 precinct crime information.

Interpersonal safety, as discussed in Being Barnard, be an active bystander – notice problematic behavior and intervene, indirectly or directly, to disrupt and deter offenses. Being Barnard provides additional resources. 

Finally, it is important to be clear about how Barnard reports crime on or near campus and how students can stay informed. In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act), Barnard College provides crime alert information to the campus community. Students are also automatically enrolled in Barnard’s alert system utilizing the cell phone number that was provided to the College. Please visit myBarnard to confirm that your cell phone number is correct. Barnard students can also opt into Columbia University’s Public Safety text alert system by logging in with Columbia UNI to the Columbia SSOL. The link can be found under “Your Academic Records,” select “Text Message Enrollment.” Because of our separate locations, these alerts will, on occasion, include information about incidents that are not in close proximity of Barnard’s campus. In some instances, you could receive messages from both Barnard and Columbia alert systems. More information is available online at Barnard Public Safety. Additional crime prevention resources and programs are available to the University community.

We anticipate that members of the community returning to campus brings both excitement and uncertainty. These are challenging times for individuals, communities and society, and Barnard is no different. We favor a holistic approach to supporting our community and work tirelessly to consider the safety of our community.

As always, you can contact us for emergency and non-emergency issues:

Barnard College Public Safety

Non-emergency: 212-854-3362  Emergency: 212-854-6666

The safety and well-being of our community, students, faculty, and staff, remains our top priority.

Be safe, 

Ariana Gonzalez Stokas

Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Amy Zavadil

Interim Executive Director of Public Safety