Approximately 400 students live in the three University Residence Halls. Halls are staffed with a Residence Hall Manager and Resident Advisors (RA’s) who work closely with SMU Security to facilitate student’s safety, report suspicious circumstances, conduct violations, parking, vehicle, and property registrations, and other student assistance needs. All are trained in residence hall policies. Access doors are locked 24 hours/day, seven days/week. Access and apartment doors are controlled by a key in-lock system maintained by the Abbey Key Shop and the Residence Hall Manager’s Office. During low occupancy periods, such as summer terms, students remaining on campus are concentrated in one of the Halls to enhance security effectiveness.

Overnight guests in the residence halls are required to register with the Hall Manager or RA and must secure a vehicle pass. Access to on-campus housing by University employees is on an “as needed” basis and incorporates strict key control procedures. All University maintenance personnel wear name-tagged uniforms to facilitate identification by Residence Hall residents.

The SMU Offices of Residence Life, Facilities Management, Maintenance, Custodial Services, and Security collaborate to safeguard on-campus Residence Hall students. Needed repairs are reported and made promptly; locks replaced when keys are reported lost or stolen, and potential safety hazards, such as poor lighting, suspicious persons or circumstances, etc. receive a high priority response.

The SMU Offices of Campus Security, Campus and Residence Life, Counseling Center, Dean of Student Affairs, International Students Program, and Enrollment Management present programs on personal safety, rape prevention, substance abuse, self-defense, and crime prevention throughout the school year. Campus Security and Residence Life assist in distributing safety literature to resident students and encourages all residents to attend hall meetings on personal safety. RA staff in each hall offer a number of programs throughout the year in varying topics of personal safety. In addition to annual crime prevention programs Campus Security also provides timely warning for serious crimes through campus e-mail, bulletin board postings, personal contacts, and the Security Office web site. Media sources may also be used for crime prevention awareness and education.

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