The cold weather brings new challenges for the BYU community. BYU Police are encouraging students to be extra aware of common seasonal mishaps.
As campus grows cold and students stress about finals, BYU Police are working to ensure campus remains safe. Police have noticed an increase in weather-related incidents in the fall season.
Lieutenant George Besendorfer warned students of the possibility of break-ins.
“When it gets cold, we start to get a lot of people experiencing homelessness. We had a person experiencing homelessness that came onto campus and waited for some students to open the door and then they followed the students in,” Besendorfer said.
Sharp said students can help police in providing aid to the homeless.
“If you think something’s a little suspicious, give us a call and we’ll respond,” Besendorfer said.
Officer Brian Weidmer is a patrol officer and regularly observes crashes related to winter conditions.
“We also see an uptick in fender benders and traffic accidents. Just drive carefully on campus in the wintertime, make sure you clean your window and watch out for each other,” Weidmer said.
However, vehicles are not the only things to watch out for.
“A lot of deer on campus in the wintertime, because they come down off the mountain. Just yesterday I saw a deer run across the road … almost hit a student,” Weidmer said.
Apparently, a popular hangout spot for deer is the area around the Brimhall building.
Information systems major Josh Michaelson appreciates BYU Police watching out for the community.
“They’re good, I think they do a good job. I’ve heard about a lot of progress and strides they’ve made towards making the campus feel safer,” Michaelson said.
Besendorfer said the key to safety on campus is cooperation between the police and the community.
“This is a very nice university, so officers like to work here because we deal with very nice people. Get involved, just become involved in what’s going on on the campus,” Besendorfer said.
BYU Police are available 24/7 and are located at the Jesse Knight building.
