USC hosts Campus Safety Awareness Fair

The fourth-annual Campus Safety Awareness Fair will take place today on the University Park Campus in celebration of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

The fair, hosted on Trousdale Parkway near Tommy Trojan from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will provide students, faculty and staff with information regarding safety during natural disasters, robberies, crimes and sexual assaults.

“[There are a] range of things for people to become better acquainted with how safety relates to them, especially for people who aren’t familiar with what it means to live in Southern California,” said Charlie Lane, associate senior vice president of Career and Protective Services. CPS co-sponsored the event with the USC Staff Assembly and the Department of Public Safety.

In response to the major earthquake warning from scientists, Bill Regensburger, director of Fire Safety and Emergency Planning, said this year’s fair is the perfect opportunity for the USC community to learn how to respond to such a natural disaster.

“Our goal is to make sure every student is safe,” Regensburger said. “We’re really trying this year to get people passing by to pass by and learn what to do … You at least need to know what to do when an earthquake happens.”

An earthquake simulator at the fair will give students, especially those who have never experienced an earthquake before, the opportunity to feel the effects of an earthquake, Regensburger said.

There will be 30 to 40 exhibits at the fair, including booths such as the Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol, USC Center for Women and Men, USC Campus Cruiser and Ready America.

Emergency preparedness kits and fire extinguishers will also be available for purchase.

“On a normal day, if somebody gets injured, you call 911, but after a major emergency 911 will be busy; 911 will not be available,” Regensburger said. “Everybody needs to be prepared. If your roommate is injured, you’re going to be the one to help them survive until help survives.”