Ambassadors encourage social distancing on campus
A new Risk and Safety Ambassador program has been set in place to communicate COVID-19 social-distancing protocols to groups on UFV’s campus.
Chris Humphries, UFV security manager, explained the program in an email. “The Risk and Safety Ambassador program was developed to assist those students, staff, faculty, and community members who may be required to come to campus during the pandemic. The Ambassadors are tasked with helping people navigate the health and safety rules and regulations UFV has activated in accordance with the B.C. provincial health officer’s guidelines and policies.”
UFV has created a COVID-19 safety plan for students and staff — limiting gatherings to 50 people, implementing measures of social distancing, and including new cleaning procedures. The risk and safety ambassadors are there to ensure these protocols are being met by students and staff.
“The Ambassadors are tasked with educating and encouraging campus users (faculty, staff, students, and visitors) to follow physical distancing guidelines,” Humphries said. “If there is persistent refusal to comply with UFV and government-mandated health and safety protocols, the Ambassadors are empowered to involve the UFV Security team for follow up.”
The Risk and Safety Ambassador program has hired four ambassadors so far, with plans to hire more in the future. They work alongside the UFV Security team and are hired through the UFV Career Centre. “The Ambassadors receive a training program which includes safety training, a course on security awareness and managing challenging behaviour, and situational on-the-job training with our Security team,” said Humphries.
Universities like SFU and UVic have similar programs in place. UFV ambassadors can be found around campus wearing light blue T-shirts with clipboards and walkie-talkies.
UFV Ambassadors (UFV Flickr)
Danaye studies English and procrastination at UFV and is very passionate about the Oxford comma. She spends her days walking to campus from the free parking zones, writing novels she'll never finish, and pretending to know how to pronounce abominable. Once she graduates, she plans to adopt a cat.
