Campus Security Goes Viral Teaching Safety

Screenshot from @belmontsecurity on Instagram.

Campus Security’s silly social media videos use humor to teach Belmont students about campus safety. 

“The amount of times I’ve laughed out loud in public like a crazy person when I watch them is too often,” said freshman Taryn Cunningham. 

One edited video posted last semester shows a car running into Cpl. James Grandberry six times, demonstrating six safety tips for crossing the road. 

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/862ab2_9dd8427183904f6f840108c5ce18014f/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Since then, Campus Security has continued to post silly videos on Instagram and TikTok, using humor to motivate Belmont students to pay attention to safety.  

The goal is “to bring awareness in a playful way to the students,” Grandberry said. He hopes the videos will capture students’ attention and keep them safe. 

Cunningham said social media is one of the best formats to engage her and other students. 

“Our generation right now is really prone to being engaged by entertainment,” she said. 

Teaching safety from the angle of entertainment is producing results, said Freshman Marissa Miller. Driving on 15th Avenue and leaving the Johnson Center Parking Garage used to be a nightmare for her. 

“A lot of people would not do the things that he said to do, like make eye contact with the driver… and there were several times where I've almost watched people get hit or I almost hit someone,” Miller said. 

“I can tell there's been a difference on campus.” 

Freshman Catherine Sluder said she believes the reason the videos are successful is because the material being presented is specific to Belmont. 

“It seems more like safety for living on campus,” as opposed to generalized safety tips, she said. 

The posts are gaining traction, and not just from Belmont students.

Since the first video two and a half months ago, Campus Security’s social media following has increased by 525% across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Previously, its following increased about 29% every two to three months, said Abbey Fies, social media and content manager for Campus Security.

“One of my friends who lives in Texas sent me the video,” Miller said. “That's how far it was able to be reached.”

Grandberry was shocked by the impact of the video. Other students also have friends from across the country who saw Campus Security’s videos, he said.

“At first I was like, it's just a video, but after seeing the aftermath of it or how much it got people's attention... it was pretty cool,” said Grandberry.

In addition to teaching safety, Campus Security’s social media videos have helped raise awareness and turnout for its in-person safety programs. 

“We've seen a lot more this year, at least with our first programming... We had a lot more people come out for that,” Grandberry said.

All of this isn’t the only benefit to Campus Security’s social media safety campaign. 

“I think it'll also build a better connection with students and Campus Security,” said Sluder.

When students see Grandberry and other officers in silly videos, they’ll become familiar with the officers, said Sluder. This will build trust in the people keeping students safe, even if they see that officer get “hit” six times by a car. 

This article was written by Olivia Abernathy