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Safety Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) Team

Colleges and universities around the country have become more diligent and proactive in providing a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to their campuses. More recently, the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) now requires all technical colleges to have a behavioral interventional team. The SAFE Team is dedicated to a proactive, coordinated, and planned approach to the identification, prevention, assessment, management, and reduction of interpersonal and behavioral threats to the safety and well-being of all Southern Regional Technical College students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

It is the responsibility of faculty, staff, and students to immediately report any situation that could possibly result in harm to anyone in the college community.

If a concern is behavioral, emotional, medical mental health, personal hardship, danger to self or others, the SAFE Team would want to be made aware to see if additional help can be provided. When there is an active or immediate risk of violence or harm to others, please call 911 or SRTC’s Public Safety at 229-726-9371.

View our SAFE Brochure here.

What should I do if I am concerned?

  • Speak with the individual and express your concern about their behavior and how it is impacting your environment.

  • Inform and encourage the person to utilize support services that are available for them on campus.

  • Offer to help them to make an appointment or walk with them to where they can get help.

  • If you do not feel safe talking alone to the individual, seek support from a College representative from an instructor, Counseling, Human Resources, Student Affairs, or Campus Police.

  • When in doubt...Make a Call!

  • If you are uncertain whether an individual’s behavior is concerning, disruptive, or threatening, do not hesitate to consult with Campus Police or a College official.

SAFE Team Members:

  • Leigh Wallace, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Student Affairs
  • James Spooner, Campus Chief of Police
  • Mary Beth Watson, Vice President for Human Resources
  • Mason Miller, Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Gloria Lowe, Student Navigator
  • Darbie Raines, Director of Accessibility and Compliance

Hazing Information and Reporting

Southern Regional Technical College is committed to providing a safe learning environment for students and all campus community members. Hazing is a violation of state law and is strictly prohibited by Southern Regional Technical College both on and off campus. Violation of this policy may result in both disciplinary action and criminal charges. In compliance with the “Max Gruver Act”, SRTC will publicly disclose administrative adjudications of hazing or hazing related convictions.

Records will include the name of any school organization involved, date(s) of occurrence, a description of specific hazing related findings, sanctions, adjudications, and convictions for any person or school organization. The information provided will be maintained for at least 5 years following final adjudication or conviction.

State Law

O.C.G.A. 16-5-61 - Hazing

  1. A. As used in this Code section, the term:
    1. “Haze” or “hazing” means to subject a student to an activity which endangers or is likely to endanger the physical health of a student, or coerces the student through the use of social or physical pressure to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance which subjects the student to a likely risk of vomiting, intoxication, or unconsciousness regardless of a student’s willingness to participate in such activity.
    2. “School” means any unit of the University System of Georgia, any unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, or any private postsecondary school, college, or university in this state.
    3. “School organization” means any association, corporation, order, club, society, fraternity, sorority, athletic team, or a group living together which has students or alumni as its principal members, including local affiliate organizations.
    4. “Student” means any person enrolled or prospectively enrolled in a school in this state.
  1. B. It shall be unlawful for any person to haze any student in connection with or as a condition or precondition of gaining acceptance, membership, office, or other status in a school organization.

C. Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

SRTC Policy

Hazing is considered non-academic misconduct and is defined as:

Any intentional, knowing or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that (1) Is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization; and (2) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the College or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team) of physical or psychological injury including:

  1. whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone’s body or similar activity;
  2. causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics or other similar activity;
  3. causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs or other substances;
  4. causing, coercing or otherwise inducing another person to perform sexual acts;
  5. any activity that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words or conduct;
  6. any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal or Federal law; and
  7. any activity that induces, causes or requires another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal or Federal law.

Reporting

To report incidents or suspected incidents of hazing, please contact the SAFE Team via:

Incidents

Below you will find information regarding SRTC’s hazing-specific findings for any person or school organization. Public disclosure shall not include personal identifying information of any individual and shall be subject to the requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

No incidents to report for the following reporting periods:

  • 1/1/2025-6/30/2025