VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University kicked off Campus Safety Week Monday on the pedestrian mall.

VSU Police Sgt. Heidi Browning hopes the week will bring attention to some of the underutilized services offered by on-campus law enforcement and allow students to get to know their local officers.

“One thing is police escort services; it’s an underused program and we can meet students at their door or car,” Browning said. “We also have the Blazer Guardian App.”

Police escort services are available to all VSU faculty, staff, students and visitors while walking on campus and can be requested 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Blazer Guardian App keeps students in touch with police, friends, family members and classmates and serves as a “virtual escort” through its safety timer. This allows students to set a specific time they should be arriving at a location and notify officers if they have not made it to their destination during that time frame.

A “send a tip” feature also allows students to anonymously report suspicious activity on campus.

While VSU Safety Week was already planned, a renewed interest in the services and the overall safety of students came after a false social media post stating a student was drugged by sex traffickers.

VSU debunked the claims after making contact with the people involved. While a suspicious person call was made; VSUPD found the two people were known to be exercising in the parking deck, according to the university.

The post showed a key that was claimed to have “poisoned” a student but later turned out to be a key that a student was missing.

This incident may not have been dangerous but VSUPD Chief Alan Rowe said it did get people talking and was a good time to reiterate all the safety services available on campus.

VSUPD partnered with the NAACP on campus to further strengthen the bonds between community and police.

Chaplain Tyrese Manigault said events scheduled throughout the week are important “in light of what we’ve seen so far in the nation, especially when it comes to policing.”

“We need to recognize that we are all humans first,” Manigault said.

The rest of the week’s activities include an alcohol awareness event, brave space dialogue and women’s only self-defense class.

The week ends Friday evening with a closing celebration on the front lawn.

More information about the safety services available on campus can be found at valdosta.edu.