Campus Safety

Get to Know WeatherSTEM, BC's Personal Weather Station

Installed in 2015 and sporting the maroon and gold, BC's WeatherSTEM functions as an all-in-one, multi-sensor weather station tracking everything from temperature to rainfall to windspeed. Equipped with cameras facing east and west, the station also provides a 24-hour livestream of current conditions on the WeatherSTEM site.

Most Boston-area residents rely on weather apps using data from stations that could be more than five miles away. With WeatherSTEM, however, the BC community has access to the most precise updates of what it's like right here, right now. Whether you need forecasts for today, tomorrow, or ten days on, WeatherSTEM has it all.

Go to BC WeatherSTEM Page Here

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Preparing against an Active Shooter Event

An active shooter event is statistically rare, but can never be fully eliminated.  That’s why it’s on all of us — students, faculty, staff and visitors — to have a plan to respond if such a crisis ensues.

Remaining calm and assessing the situation is crucial to your safety during an active shooter event. Keep in mind:  Plan, Evaluate and Respond.  Depending on where the shooter is located, your response could involve a number of different steps to best protecting yourself and others. Shelter in place. Turn off lights. Lock and barricade all points of entry. If you have to flee, take an escape route that minimizes the chance of encountering the shooter and move quickly.

Being prepared and staying aware could save your life in the unlikely event of an active shooter. Campus-wide alerts would be used to send both “shelter-in-place” and “all-clear” signals, so be sure to enable notifications in your BC Safe app. In this type of emergency, every second counts.

For more information on how to respond to an on-campus active shooter event, follow the video link below.

Watch BC Active Shooter Awareness Video

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BC SAFE

BC Safe is the official mobile safety app for Boston College. You can use the app throughout the day to find essential information and to quickly check bus schedules, weather updates, search for key contacts, get helpful travel information, access emergency guidance and much more. Boston College Public Safety maintains the app. Regardless if you are a student, faculty, staff, alumni, visitor or a friendly neighbor, BC Safe has something for you!

Winter Weather Safety

A winter storm in New England can range from moderate snowfall over a few hours to a Nor'easter, bringing blizzard conditions with blinding, wind-driven snow that can last several days. People can become stranded in their automobiles or trapped at home, forced to go without utilities or other services. The aftermath of a winter storm can have an impact on a community or the entire region for days, weeks, or even months.

Winter storms can also be deceptive killers, as most deaths are indirectly related to the actual storm. The major causes are automobile or other transportation accidents, exhaustion, and heart attacks caused by overexertion, freezing to death, and asphyxiation from improper heating sources. House fires occur more frequently in the winter due to a lack of proper safety precautions when using alternate heating sources, like unattended fires and space heaters.

As with most potential disasters, preparedness, monitoring the media, and using your common sense can minimize the danger to you and your family.

Click the button below to download our Winter Weather Preparedness Guide to help keep you safe both at home and on campus in the event of a winter storm.

Download Winter Weather Preparedness Guide Here

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Never Walk Home Alone with BC Safe Friend Walk!

Keep yourself and your friends safe by downloading the BC Safe App and using Friend Walk to share your walk home. Using GPS location software from your phone, Friend Walk will share your progress to your destination, and a friend can contact Emergency Services with the press of a button if necessary. 

This helpful feature is available conveniently on the front page of our BC Safe App, which can be downloaded from all major app stores. Friend Walk is a great way to reassure parents and friends, and keep you safe as you make your way home!

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Learn about Potential Hazards

BC is a very safe place. But learning about fire, severe weather, cyber threats and health emergencies can ensure you remain safe in the unlikely event that an event occurs. Learn more about how to prepare for hazards.