By Lauren Macovitz / Jambar Contributor
Since the beginning of the fall semester, there have been several K-12 school shootings across the country. In addition to these, the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University has continued to raise concerns over both K-12 and college campus safety.
At Youngstown State University, campus safety and security continues to be prioritized with the additions of metal detectors, a safety app for students, a K-9 dog and other important security enhancements.
YSU Police Chief Shawn Varso highlighted the importance of the PENGUINsafe app introduced in March.
“We were looking for something that we could easily roll out, and it would be more accessible to the students and actually more of a benefit to the students,” Varso said.
The app serves as an emergency phone, allowing students to quickly alert campus security. Varso said the app tracks student’s movements after they’ve activated the alert.
“If a student pushes the button on the PENGUINsafe app, their location comes in immediately on a map, and it’s indicating that the student is in trouble so that we can send officers right to where that student is,” Varso said.
Varso said YSU evaluated the cost of updating its older emergency phone system, but decided against its high price.
In addition to the safety of those walking, Varso said the lighting around parking lots was updated with brighter, dusk-to-dawn LED bulbs.
“We’ve improved the lighting by making them LED lights in the parking lots, which makes it a little brighter and makes the area a little more well-lit,” Varso said.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety, in coordination with the Chancellor of Higher Education’s Campus Safety Grant Program, also awarded YSU a $118,528 grant for security improvements that assists in improving the overall well-being of campus buildings.
“We’re in the process of updating some of the cameras that we have on the inner core and we will be able to enhance some of the [closed circuit television] footage,” Varso said.
Additionally, YSU purchased four walkthrough metal detectors for larger campus events.
“We received a safety grant that enabled us to buy four walkthrough metal detectors,” Varso said. “We can ensure safety by making sure everyone who comes through is checked.”
Another recent addition to campus safety is Barkley, a K-9 trained in explosives and firearm detection. He filled the role of YSU’s previous K-9, Gino, who retired in May 2024.
Barkley underwent a comprehensive, five-week training course at Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania. Handled by officer Hope Stoner, Varso said Barkley became a popular figure on campus.
“He’s been great. We’ve been going over the building prior to game days, so he knows the layout when we do our sweeps,” Stoner said. “We’ve also been engaging with the community to show people that we have great resources to keep our campus safe.”
YSU also conducts regular active shooter training to ensure preparedness.
“We have an active shooter program. We try to hit certain areas every year to make sure that their staff is up to date and ready to go in the event of an active shooter situation,” Varso said.
Varso added that the department is in the process of hiring additional officers to further improve security in the future.
“We hope to continue our safe campus and tackle anything,” Varso said.