Our Campus Security staff addressed newcomers about safety on the Stellenbosch campus, and in the town area, during the 2022 welcoming period.

Says Melany le Roux, manager security systems and intelligence: "We focused on the importance of student safety and told the newcomers that they should take the same safety precautions in Stellenbosch as they would elsewhere in South Africa. We gave them an overview of our role and taught them basic self-defence skills."

"It is important the newcomers understand the challenges we face with our campus being an open one. We also showed them which categories of crime occurs frequently and where the hotspots are."

Melany said they told the students how important it is not to walk alone and to make use of the walk-with service on campus, which Campus Security offers as a free service. They were also told about the shuttle service and encouraged to use it, especially when staying on the outskirts of campus.

Campus Security also visited the Tygerberg campus with their safety talk. While Tygerberg campus does not face the same challenges as the Stellenbosch campus, Melany​ and her colleagues shared necessary safety precautions, such as using Uber services.

"We received very positive responses on a survey completed by newcomers, and they urged us to repeat these sessions with all the newcomers. Generally, the students thoroughly enjoyed the very interactive self-defence sessions. They were happy to volunteer and partake in physical demonstrations. The survey also indicated that newcomers felt empowered after the safety sessions in playing an active role in ensuring their own safety on campus," said Melany.

"The team encourages student communities to request us to conduct more safety sessions on campus, which should include senior students, too, as security relies on partnering with the campus community to deter criminal behaviour on campus."​