Students, faculty, and staff received a dose of campus safety information from various University of Houston departments at the annual Behind the Badge event.
While the event offers the UH community an opportunity to interact with law enforcement agencies—including the University of Houston Police Department (UHPD) — it also highlights campus departments that, while not directly involved in safety enforcement, provide essential resources and services that support a safe campus environment.
UHPD was joined by Fire & Life Safety, the Office of Emergency Management, Parking & Transportation, Student Health Center & Campus Pharmacy, The Forensic Center, FIXIT, and Equal Opportunity Services.
Over the two-hour event, 125 attendees — mostly students — visited booths and engaged with representatives. Each participant received a passport that could earn them $5 in ShastaBUCKS if they visited every booth. Completed passports were also entered into a raffle for a $100 ShastaBUCKS prize.
Beyond the incentives, the event’s core value was the safety information shared.
“The whole point is for us [UHPD] to be here and available, and for people to put a face to an issue,” said UHPD Chief Ceaser Moore. “We had a lot of good and fun conversations, so I’m happy about that.”
Kim Kham, Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications at the Student Health Center & Campus Pharmacy, participated for the first time and found the event to be an excellent way for students to access helpful information.
“I think students are more aware now,” said Kham. “Sometimes with school, students get caught up in everything, and having an event like this—where they meet the people who keep them safe—is helpful.”
For international student Hong Guo, a junior at the Language and Culture Center, the event was eye-opening. Before attending, she didn’t know where the health center was located. After speaking with Kham, she now knows both the location and the services offered.
While departmental information is available online, the event provides a more accessible way for students to engage directly with staff. For Guo, this made a big difference.
“For international students, reading information online in a foreign language isn’t always easy,” said Guo. “But here [at Behind the Badge], we can ask questions, and the answers are easier to understand.”
Freshmen Dalya Khaleel, a biology major, and Nancy Galera, a biochemistry major, found the event especially informative. Galera learned that students can call UHPD for an escort to their car or residence hall.
“That’s reassuring,” said Khaleel. “I have some late labs, so it’s a cool feature I can now take advantage of.”
One of the event’s highlights was Fire & Life Safety’s laser-driven fire extinguisher trainer. The device simulates digital flames that attendees extinguish using an infrared-laser-equipped fire extinguisher. It was a hit with students.
Biomedical Engineering freshman Jaeden Smith admitted he didn’t know how to hold a fire extinguisher before the event. After trying it, he feels more confident about responding to a fire. For others, the experience helped ease their fears.
“Honestly, it was really scary at first because I’ve never held a fire extinguisher
before,” said Galera. “But they explained it really well.”
Attendees left Behind the Badge better informed about campus safety resources—and some even better prepared to put out fires, digital or otherwise.