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Vassar College, as it is in all communities, finds it necessary to safeguard personal property and to be aware of established security regulations. The college employs men and women, both in uniform and plain clothes, dedicated to providing a safe, peaceful campus for your enjoyment and an environment conducive to academic endeavors. Vassar is one of the few colleges where a security officer is assigned to residence houses at night. These men and women are on campus for your help and protection. Should you need help, dial extension 7333. All suspicious circumstances and individuals should be reported to Security for investigation and evaluation. Directed by Donald C. Marsala, the Security Department is staffed by Associate Director Kim Squillace, one lieutenant, three sergeants, and 29 full-time, New York State certified security officers.

Campus Alerts and Advisories

Because Vassar has long recognized the importance of keeping its community members, and others well informed about public safety issues, Vassar College Security provides timely notification of potential and actual occurrences of criminal activity to the Vassar community in conjunction with other law-enforcement agencies and other College departments.

Campus Crime Alerts are intended to provide timely warning of crimes that pose an ongoing threat to faculty, staff, and students. These Crime Alerts contain a brief description of the incident; the date, time, and location of the incident; and precautions to take.

Campus Advisories are also issued in those instances where the community should be aware of the potential for criminal activity. Both advisories and alerts are posted in each Residence Hall, the Campus Security Information Board in the College Center and are sent via e-mail to all members of the community.

Parking Regulations

The Vassar College Security Department acknowledges that parking on campus remains a challenge and we request the cooperation and patience of all.

General Parking Regulations
Student Parking Regulations

Security in the Residence Halls

Residence halls are equipped with card entry systems. Only residents with proper ID or guests accompanied by their hosts can gain entry. In addition, security officers patrol the grounds of the Town Houses and Terrace Apartments and conduct regular rounds both inside and outside of each residence hall between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Campus Patrol

Organized and run by students working in cooperation with the Security Department, the Campus Patrol employs about 120 students who walk the campus equipped with security radios between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. (3 a.m. on weekends).

Bicycle Patrol

The Vassar College Security Department implemented a Bicycle Patrol into it's existing operations recently. The bicycles will serve as a supplement to the marked patrol vehicles and foot patrols already being used by the department. With the purchase of four "Fuji" mountain bikes and appropriate uniforms, four assigned officers will now begin patrolling Vassar's 1200 acres on bicycles. Read more about bicycle patrol.

R.A.D. Courses offered by Vassar College Security

The Rape Aggression Defense System is a program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques. It is a comprehensive course for women that begins with risk awareness, prevention, reduction and avoidance, while progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training. Our courses are taught by certified R.A.D. Instructors.

R.A.D. Classes are offered free to members of the Vassar College Community and are offered several times throughout the year. All-campus e-mails will announce the times and dates. Read more about R.A.D.

Building Access Change Request Form

All departmental requests for building openings, or for individual access should be submitted through the departmental chairperson office using this form.

Vehicle Request Form

Vehicles for college use are available to the Vassar Community. All requests should be made one week in advance. To fill out a vehicle request form, click here. The Security Department will respond to your request.

Escort and Shuttle Services

Campus Patrol offers a walking escort service, which any member of the community may use to be escorted anywhere on campus. The Security Department operates a shuttle van to transport students around campus and to some off-campus housing. The shuttle runs from 7 p.m. (6 p.m. after daylight savings time) until 3 a.m. every night, stopping every 20 minutes at the following locations:

*Shuttle stops at both A and D blocks

Safety Education

The Security Department regularly presents crime prevention seminars in the residence halls and distributes brochures and guidelines outlining security policies and procedures and other important sources of information, as well as federally mandated crime statistics (annual security report.)

The Advisory Committee on Campus Safety will provide upon request all campus crime statistics as reported to the United States Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml). The Director of Security will provide, upon request, the annual campus crime statistics. The Security Department's telephone number is 845.437.5200

Security Map

The campus Security Map is available online.