Though COVID-19 has limited many physical interactions, UHPD and Stay Cougar Safe, an ongoing outreach and engagement safety initiative across the UH community, have both continued to serve the UH community virtually and on campus.
Since moving the student “UHPD Trading Card” campaign online in March due to the pandemic, Stay Cougar Safe has increased online awareness through engaging social media activities like “Trading Card Thursdays,” “Pin the Mask on Shasta,” and most recently, the “Creepy Cougar,” a Halloween-themed game where students were asked to spot seven differences between two Creepy Cougar images, which highlighted safety messages supporting wearing masks as well as effective hygiene and sanitization products like hand sanitizer in the Halloween basket.
"Wow, this was so fun!" one Twitter user exclaimed. Winners of the online Creepy Cougar game received a Stay Cougar Safe Swag Bag, which includes a branded t-shirt, bottle and whistle.
In addition, UHPD led the virtual UH support of National Night Out an annual community and community safety engagement initiative, was held in early October where UHPD's finest answered questions that were submitted by the UH community. Everyone that submitted a question received a Stay Cougar Safe swag package. Some of these questions included what their roles are on campus, their favorite part of their job, and of course COVID-19 safety questions.
These gamification methods not only interactively spread the message of safety but also increased brand awareness—all in support of “co-production” of safety across the UH community. During the month of October alone, the Stay Cougar Safe social media profile visits increased by 102.7% on Twitter due to gamification like Creepy Cougar and becoming a student resource by sharing helpful safety updates.
UHPD and Stay Cougar Safe aren't stopping there. To highlight the importance of community engagement and involvement with UHPD’s finest, hear the latest safety and security campus updates from Chief Ceaser Moore as part of your next virtual organizational meeting.
From SGA, Staff Council, Faculty Senate, and more, UHPD has been meeting virtually with student, staff, and faculty partners. We welcome the opportunity to be a part of your next organizational or departmental group meeting.
Call Markenna Pharr (713) 743-0270 or send an email to mpharr@central.uh.edu for more details and calendar scheduling opportunities. Be sure to follow @StayCougarSafe on Twitter with the launch of “Thankful Thursday’s” showcasing UHPD officers and what they’re most thankful for this holiday season. For more updates on Stay Cougar Safe and UHPD, visit uh.edu/cougarsafe/.