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Student Handbook

Moravian University Police Department

The mission of the Moravian University Police Department is to promote a safe and well-ordered environment for students, faculty, staff, and other members of the community by extending care and assistance, by overseeing the physical surroundings, and, when necessary, by enforcing laws and regulations, all carried out in a compassionate manner hallmarked by the values of respect, integrity, service, and excellence.

The campus police are responsible for protecting life and property, preventing and detecting crime on campus, and providing essential safety services to the University community. Their presence eliminates the necessity of depending upon outside agencies for public safety services, but the Campus Police Office works closely with area law enforcement agencies and fire departments.

Campus police officers are commissioned in accordance with 22 Pa.C.S.A. § 501, according to which "such policemen, so appointed, shall severally possess and exercise all the powers of a police officer in this Commonwealth, authority in and upon, and in the immediate and adjacent vicinity of all the property" of the University. In addition, campus police officers are certified under Act 235 -- Lethal Weapons Training Act and attend yearly update training under Act 120 -- the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Training Act. Campus police officers enforce the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, ordinances of the City of Bethlehem, and the rules and policies of Moravian University.

Campus police officers patrol the campus on foot and in marked cars to ensure the safety of the University community. A police dog may accompany officers at times. Continual in-service training provides for professional delivery of law enforcement services.

Campus Police offers crime prevention programs, including RAD (rape defense); an engraving service for property registration; and an escort service. It also supervises and regulates parking.

Publications explaining these and other services can be picked up at the Moravian University Police Department, the HUB desk, the Registrar's Office, or the Office of Student Life.

The Clery Act (Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act) requires "institutions to give timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students and employees." Crimes required to be reported by the Clery Act include (as defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook): criminal homicide, including murder, non-negligent manslaughter, and negligent manslaughter; rape; fondling; incest; statutory rape; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; arson; motor vehicle theft; stalking, domestic violence and dating violence; and arrests and/or disciplinary referrals for liquor-law violations, drug-law violations, and illegal weapons possession.

Such notifications are provided by a broadcast e-mail message through the institution's e-mail service in order to alert students, faculty, and staff in a timely manner to situations or crimes that may represent a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community, to heighten safety awareness, and, depending on the circumstances, to solicit information that may lead to an arrest and conviction. While every attempt is made to issue reasonably prompt notice, releases are subject to the availability of accurate facts concerning the incident.

Like most institutions, Moravian University and Moravian Theological Seminary consider it important to send notices when necessary but not frivolously, given that the key to the effectiveness of a timely notice is that the notice itself is something out of the ordinary. Situations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis in order to determine whether there exists a serious or ongoing threat to the institutional community. Instances of a violent crime occurring between two individuals who know each other also are evaluated in this manner.

Timely notifications typically include the following information:

  • A succinct statement of the incident
  • Any connection to previous incidents
  • Physical description and/or composite drawing of the suspect, if appropriate
  • Date and time the bulletin was released
  • Other relevant and important information
  • Appropriate safety tips

When an incident occurs on campus which may merit a timely warning, the highest ranking police officer on campus at that time is empowered to decide whether or not one is merited and, if so, what the appropriate level of warning is given the situation, consulting with the chief of police as necessary and possible. The officer or the dispatcher will issue the notification him- or herself if no additional consultation is deemed necessary due to low threat level or limited potential for harm (e.g., a situation of a rash of car break-ins).

In situations of greater concern or potential impact, when time permits, Campus Police consults with the Student Affairs Office and with the President's Office in order to decide whether such notice is advisable, taking into account the nature of the threat, the extent of the risk, the population at risk, and whether there is another, more possibly even more effective, way to minimize the risk of reoccurrence of the incident (e.g., a situation of alleged sexual assault).

When a situation appears to pose an imminent, significant threat of injury or property damage (e.g., a situation involving a bomb threat), the emergency notification system will be deployed by Campus Police.

The institution’s emergency notification system will be used for situations involving an imminent, significant threat of injury or property damage. It may also be used to announce weather closings and delays; however, the siren mentioned below is not used for weather-related events. The system consists of a three-tier communications sequence, activated in the following order: 
(1) siren, (2) text message, e-mail, external web posting, AMOS targeted message, digital signage, computer desktop pop-up, and (3) University- and Seminary- owned telephones as deemed appropriate. Although not specifically designated a part of the emergency notification system, the public address system may be used to advise the community during an emergency situation.

The first notification tier, sirens on the Main Street and Hurd Campuses, allows the institution to alert the campus community to an emergency. The sirens are deployed by Campus Police to provide immediate mass notification of the need for University community members to check their cell phones for a text message and other sources named above for information.

The second notification tier, e2Campus, enables the institution to send text messages and e-mail messages to registered members of the campus community, and those whom they included when they registered, with information about what is happening and/or what precautions should be taken. Students and employees may register two cell phone numbers and two e-mail addresses. Every student, faculty member, administrator, and staff member who has a cell phone should register that cell phone number in accordance with instructions posted on AMOS (the e2Campus link is under "quick links"). The purpose of sending a text message is to provide basic instruction (e.g., "shelter in place") in the event of an emergency.

All students are required either to register with e2Campus or to sign a form indicating that they do not have a cell phone or that they purposely choose not to enroll in e2Campus.

E2campus will also send the same alerts via e-mail notification for those who provide an e-mail address when they register.  E2campus also sends out the notification to digital signage displays located around campus, external web pages (Moravian.edu), the Student Portal AMOS, and to the desktops of University-owned computers, and personally-owned computers that are registered, that are turned on at the time of the notification.   

The third notification tier involves manually sending the same message that was sent via e2campus to all of the University-owned telephones  located on the desks of faculty and staff around campus (also accessible from off-campus locations).

Additional efforts are made to advise members of the campus community on a timely basis about any campus crime and crime-related problems. These efforts are in compliance with the Clery Act and include the following:

  • A safety and security report and a fire report. Published annually and distributed throughout the University community. It is available to anyone requesting a copy.
  • Clery Crime and Fire Log. A record of all Clery crimes and fires reported to the campus police, is maintained in the Campus Police Office and is available for viewing during regular office hours.
  • Special alerts. Information can be accessed through University-wide email and the Campus Police website.

In accordance with the Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Act, information about sexually violent offenders can be obtained by submitting a written request to the Campus Police Office, which will provide names and addresses of any such offenders known to it. Information is provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and does not violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Students seeking to secure protection from abuse order (PFA), protection from sexual violence order or intimidation order (minor under the age of 18 yrs.) or the campus equivalent should contact Campus Police or the vice president for student affairs/dean of students. PFAs, PSVs and PIOs are obtained through the Northampton County Protection From Abuse Office, located in the Prothonotary Office on the first floor of the Northampton County Courthouse, 669 Washington St., Easton, PA 18042 and can be contacted at 610-559-3061. The filing hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PFA, PSV and PIO cases are heard every day between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Or, the Lehigh County Protection from Abuse Office, located on the third floor of the Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, PA 18101 and can be contacted at 610-782-3390. The filing hours are from 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. After 12:15 p.m. PFA, PSV or PIO will be filed before the respective Magisterial District Judge. There is no fee to file a PFA, PSV or PIO. In the event a student is seeking a PFA, PSV or PIO after the courthouse is closed, Campus Police will transport the student to the on-duty magisterial district judge’s office to apply for an emergency PFA, PSV and PIO. Internal behavioral notices are pursued through the vice president for student affairs/dean of students, who serves as a conduit to convey requests and potential follow-up actions to the other party.

In accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, each student living in residence has the option to register with the Student Affairs Office a confidential contact person to be notified in case the student is determined to be missing (students will receive an e-mail annually directing them to a form where they can provide this information); only authorized campus officials and law enforcement officers have access to this information. All students should know that, even if they have not registered a contact person, local law enforcement will be notified if the student is missing; all students under 18 (and not emancipated) should know that their parent or guardian will be notified.

The University may be notified of a missing student through a variety of channels and by any member of the University staff and student body. The person to whom the incident is reported should contact Campus Police immediately. The Department of Campus Police will not delay initiating an investigation into a report of a missing student/person.

Upon request, the Campus Police will attempt to accommodate a student's request for transport. Such transport will be made when there is ample coverage on campus and the campus is not left unprotected while the transport is being made. Ample coverage requires at least one patrol officer on campus who is available to respond to a call for service on either campus. If an officer is involved in another assignment, the officer will complete the original assignment prior to making the transport. The dispatcher will advise the student that there will be a delayed response in making the transport and provide the student with an estimated time.

Campus Police will provide transportation of students under the following conditions:

  • When the shuttle service has ceased normal operations between the Main Street Campus and the Hurd Campus
  • When a student seeks transportation to the campus from the North Street Parking Garage or the Historic Bethlehem Partnership Lot and the shuttle service has ceased operation
  • When a student requests a transport/escort between locations on the Main Street Campus or the Hurd Campus due to the time and they feel unsafe in traversing the campus
  • When requested by the Health Center to transport a student to a local hospital for treatment for non-emergency type treatment (e.g., sprains, dehydration, flu-like symptoms and any minor un-diagnosed pain or illness). If Campus Police is unavailable to make a transport when requested by the Health Center, the Health Center staff will provide the student with a taxi voucher which will be presented to the taxi service providing transport. The cost of the taxi service will be directly applied to the student’s account.

Campus Police will not provide transportation of students under the following conditions:

  • When shift staffing will not allow
  • When the request for transport is from or to sites located off campus (e.g., post office, grocery store, local restaurants, bars/clubs, local shopping malls or concert venues)
  • When the request is for transport to medical appointments, prescription pickups or other medical procedures which normally require an extended period of time. The Health Center staff will provide the student with a taxi voucher which will be presented to the taxi service providing transport. The cost of the taxi service will be directly applied to the student’s account.
  • When the request is for emergency medical transports (e.g., respiratory distress, cardiac symptoms, head, neck or back injuries, severe bone injuries or any other injury that may require emergency action while in route). Such transports will be made by EMS ambulance.

The aforementioned information about transport is not all-inclusive. It is meant to provide guidelines, and lists the most frequently received requests by Campus Police for transport. If a request is received which is not mentioned above, the request will be reviewed by the shift supervisor who will determine if Campus Police will provide the transport.

When the fire alarm sounds, act immediately to ensure your safety since the fire alarm system in your building is designed to provide you with early warning and detection that a problem exists and allow you to exit safely during an emergency situation.

  • Never ignore the alarm or assume the alarm is false, or that it is only a drill.
  • Do not panic, remain calm.
  • Immediately evacuate the building.
  • Lock your door when you leave. Take your keys, swipe card, cell phone and make sure to wear shoes.
  • Everyone must evacuate in the safest and closest exit or stairway. Never use an elevator.
  • If you have a disability of any type that requires assistance, retreat to the nearest area of refuge such as the stair tower and await assistance from campus police or fire department personnel.
  • Have an exit strategy by knowing two ways out, such as another stairway, emergency exit, or fire escape. Take time to review the emergency evacuation maps which are located in the common areas on your respective floor.
  • Once outside the building, move away from the structure preferably across the street, inside another safe structure, or other designated location.
  • Assume there is a fire even though you do not see smoke in your immediate area.
  • Do not obstruct fire fighters and fire apparatus by being in the local vicinity.
  • Once outside, never go back inside until the fire department allows re-entry.
  • Call 911 once you are safely outside.
  • In case of actual fire conditions, information regarding persons believed to be in the building should be made available to responding emergency crews.  (Do not return inside.)  Only trained search and rescue personnel should re-enter an evacuated area.

Adapted from guidelines provided by the Pennsylvania Crime Prevention Practitioners Association

At home, your family takes responsibility for the safety of its members, its dwelling, and its property. At Moravian, you are living in a much larger family whose members also are responsible for their own and one another's safety. In the greater University family, every member must take extra care to ensure the safety of all.

No member of the University community ought to feel afraid, but all members ought to exercise ordinary prudence. The Moravian University Police Department has been established to protect you and everyone at Moravian, but many safety factors are under your control. Here are some reminders of common sense precautions you can take. Your home is as safe as you make it, and so is your University.

In Offices, Classrooms, Libraries, or Laboratories

  • Always keep personal belongings in view. Keep petty cash and other valued items in a locked drawer. Keep your purse with you or in a locked cabinet or drawer. Never leave it in, on top of, or under a desk.
  • Never prop doors open, especially fire doors, even for a short time.
  • Avoid working or studying alone in a building at night.
  • Report anyone who behaves suspiciously to campus police. Take note of the person's appearance, and relay the information to the dispatcher. Advise campus police of any hazards or security problems.

On the Street

  • Cross streets at the crosswalks. Note that the crosswalk at Elizabeth Avenue and Monocacy Street features push-button access to warning lights in the roadway.
  • Do not text when walking, especially when crossing the roadway.
  • Stay in well-lit areas. Walk at the midpoint between curbs and buildings. Stay away from alleys, entries, and bushes.
  • Walk with someone whenever possible. Participate in the buddy system. Use our escort service after dark--it's worth the wait.
  • When walking during darkness, do not walk with stereo earbuds or headphones on. This prevents you from hearing someone approaching you from the rear.
  • If you are followed, keep looking behind you. This may discourage the follower.
  • If someone is following you on foot, cross the street, change directions, or vary your pace.
  • If you are followed by someone in a car, turn around and walk in the opposite direction. If the follower persists, record the car's license number and call the police. There are blue-light call-boxes all over campus. There are blue-light emergency phones located throughout campus.

On Campus

  • In the event of an emergency, call 610 861-1421 or dial 911 from any campus phone.
  • If you are a victim of a crime, report it immediately to Campus Safety and Police, doing so, may assist in the apprehension of the perpetrator and the prevention of others from becoming victims.
  • An unlocked door, night or day, is an invitation to trouble. Keep doors locked even if you are away only for a few minutes. Don't leave notes on your door saying that you are out. Double lock your door before you go to sleep.
  • Remember that most thefts occur during the day.
  • Always keep your keys in your possession. Never place them under mats, over doors, or in any other obvious "hiding place."
  • Know your neighbors. 
  • Close and lock all windows when you leave your room, especially if you're on the first floor or off a fire escape.
  • Keep an up-to-date inventory of your possessions. Engraving tools are available from the campus police.
  • If you should return to your residence and suspect it has been illegally entered, do not go in. Call the campus police at 610 861-1421.
  • If you see a suspicious person in a hallway or lounge, or if someone knocks on your door to solicit, call the campus police. Never confront a stranger, but never ignore one either.
  • In a residence hall, screams could sound like horseplay. Therefore, in an emergency, be specific. Shout "help!," "police!," or "fire!"
  • Don't ignore hazardous situations, and don't create them for others.

Social Situations and Alcohol

  • If you're not 21, don't drink alcohol.
  • If you are of legal age to drink, do so responsibly.
  • Don't give or sell alcohol to those who aren't at least 21.
  • Choose your social events carefully.
  • Never leave your drink unattended.
  • Never accept a drink unless you observed it being poured.
  • If you suspect your drink was tampered with, tell someone and seek medical attention.
  • Don't leave a party with someone you don't know well.
  • Always tell someone where you are going.
  • Don't invite someone you don't know well to your residence.
  • Watch out for each other.
  • Be conscious of your surroundings.
  • In all activities, use common sense.
  • Never, ever compromise your ability to be in control.

Campus Police Emergency: 610 861-1421

Report Hate/Bias Incident or Anonymous Tip: 610 861-1539

Emergency: 911

Note: All 911 calls placed through the University phone system are routed to the Campus Police. All 911 calls placed on a cell phone will be routed to either Bethlehem Emergency, Northampton County Emergency, or Lehigh County Emergency depending on where you are on campus. When calling 911, make sure to inform the communications operator of your location and that you are on the campus of Moravian University.

Campus Police 610 861-1421
City Police, Fire, Ambulance 610 865-7180
Moravian University Health Center 610 861-1567
St. Luke's North 610 954-3220
St. Luke's Behavioral Health Crisis Line 610 954-2300
St. Luke's Hospital Emergency Room 610 954-1102
Lehigh Valley Hospital/Muhlenberg Emergency Room 484 884-2522
      Hearing Impaired TTY 610 402-1995
Crisis Intervention, Lehigh County 610 782-3127
Crisis Intervention, Northampton County 610 252-9060
Alcoholics Anonymous 610 882-0558
Gamblers Anonymous 888 442-7085
Narcotics Anonymous 800 678-4989
Confront for drug and alcohol counseling 610 433-0148
Crime Victims' Council (Counseling for sexual abuse and other crimes) 610 437-6611
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) (24-Hour Hotline) 888 772-7227
Turning Point/Domestic Violence (Counseling for domestic violence) 610 437-3369
Planned Parenthood (Birth control and family planning) 610 694-0642
Women's Health Center of Allentown 610 433-5222
AIDS Line 800 662-6080