Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar
Growing safety concerns at UH have drawn students to advocate for change. Student leaders have been working all year to involve more students on the Safety and Security Committee.
Residence Halls Association President Yhoali Guerrero Becerril submitted a proposal requesting seats for major campus organizations.
The request was rejected by Committee Chair Chief and UH Chief of Police Ceaser Moore Jr., who stated student representation will not be increased on this committee, according to an email evidence obtained by The Cougar.
Student Government Association was also in communication with Moore and Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Raymond Bartlett, to add more student seats into the committee.
“SGA has exhausted all administrative channels in our efforts to expand student representation on the University’s Safety and Security Standing Committee,” said SGA Director of Public Relations Donya Oufi.
The push for change follows multiple safety-related incidents over the past few years, including a robbery reported Aug. 12, just weeks away from the start of the fall semester.
While physical security remains a concern, students and elected student leaders point to a broader issue: the lack of transparency and communication from the University.
“Outside of surveying and listening to our opinions, if the security and safety leadership needs help with program planning, why don’t they involve students directly?” said health junior Jana Qaddoura.
The demand for transparency has created tension within University governance. On June 29, SGA Director of University Standing Committees Terrell Wallace reached out to Bartlett, in hopes of establishing a permanent, dedicated SGA student appointee.
However, Wallace was not granted a meeting with Bartlett who said over an email that he is not supportive of adding an additional member to the Committee whether it be a student, faculty or staff member.
“Safety is a shared responsibility and this committee was designed to ensure representation of key stakeholders from across the campus ecosystem, including students,” said a university spokesperson. “Students are represented by their elected leaders, the SGA president and vice president, who are responsible for meeting with all their student constituencies to listen for concerns and then elevate them to the committee for consideration.”
Student leaders, however, argue that two student seats fall short of representation and are not enough to represent the diverse safety needs all students.
“Students have tried to fill the gap by assisting each other, but we shouldn’t be the only people trying to make ourselves feel safer,” Qaddoura said. “Our safety also needs to be accounted for by the University.”
A primary point of frustration among students is the unattended security vehicles parked across high-traffic areas. The lack of consistent foot patrols has altered daily campus routines for many students.
“An incident happens on campus, maybe a few more security carts will be rolling around the parking garages for two to three weeks before security reverts straight back to normal,” Qaddoura said. “I, like other students, cannot go out to organization meetings, socials, or late events on campus without planning out in my head how I can get to my car safely.”
Safety concerns are not limited to late hours or isolated areas on campus. There have been multiple incidents on campus during daylight hours in central hubs, including repeated bank robberies at the TDECU Credit Union inside Student Center South and near the MLK Metro bus stop.
“TDECU sits in the Student Center South, so the fact that an armed robber can come into a heavily frequented area by students should have raised a major concern the first time it happened,” Qaddoura said.
Beyond physical security, some students emphasized that preparing for campus crime required communication from day one.
“I wish the way security on campus was presented was more serious during orientation,” said history junior John Unal. “They should acknowledge that UH is an urban university where crime is possible, and do more to teach students basic street smarts about living and studying in a metropolitan city.”
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