NUS approves plans by students' union to hold night patrols on campus

The university's students' union plans to organise and carry out night patrols to improve safety on campus. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

SINGAPORE - The National University of Singapore has approved plans by its students' union to hold night patrols on campus to further improve safety measures and deter Peeping Toms.

Officials of the Office of Student Affairs and Office of Housing Services gave the NUS Students' Union (NUSSU) the green light at a meeting on Wednesday evening (May 15), NUSSU president Benjamin Loo told The Straits Times.

The patrols will be conducted during the freshmen orientation camp period that will start in June and end on the first week of August.

The move is in the light of four reported cases of voyeurism on university campuses in the past three weeks, following the much-talked-about Monica Baey-Nicholas Lim issue.

Mr Loo had said on Tuesday that following the 2016 NUS orientation camp saga, from 2017 onwards, freshmen had to live in campus residences and multi-purpose halls during their overnight camps.

"Given that students are staying in (campus), there is a higher chance of sexual misconduct cases."

In 2016, NUS came under fire for having inappropriate and risque freshmen orientation activities.

On some days, the union will deploy one man and one woman member of its executive committee (exco) to some residential colleges, halls of residence, student residences and multi-purpose sports halls where freshmen and camp leaders will live during the orientation period.

With a campus security guard in tow, they will patrol the corridors and toilets at certain times in the night.

Before the students head to bed, the exco members may visit some rooms to ensure they are not engaged in unfavourable activities such as smoking, drinking or having two or more students in a single room.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 freshmen are expected to take part in the orientation camps, which will last up to four days.

NUSSU will also have a 24-hour hotline for first-year undergraduates to call if they are in distress or need help.


Correction note: This article has been edited for accuracy.

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