TKU has applied for the international safe campus recognition of WHO last month. The result will come out on November 18th. If the application is successful, TKU will be the first university in the world to be acknowledged with safe campuses.

Dr. Jeng Hoang-ell, Dean of Office of General Affairs, indicates that “Office of General Affairs is determined to create an environment to meet the needs of teaching, research, learning and living. The core beliefs of the Office include Health, Safety, Energy-saving, Carbon-reducing, Effective services and Quality assurance. The objective of the 2008 academic year is to establish a safe and healthy campus with “3-Low”—low construction risk, low traffic accident, and low disposal quantity of garbage. The priority will put on ensuring safety in campus and traffic by reducing at least 5% casualty rate.

Tamsui campus locates at a hill, and roads around the campus are narrow and bumpy. However, illegal parking vehicles are numerous and traffic accidents are various. To solve this problem, TKU adopts the following measures: dispatching volunteer traffic guides to lead the vehicles and regulate the parking during heavy traffic, regulating the waiting line for bus, escorting student with scooter at night, separating the passenger way from drive way, and holding safe driving camp. According to the statistic, up to June 13 this year, the traffic casualty rate has reduced.

Other safety measures include holding suicide prevention forums irregularly, posting CPR first aid information in school building, holding heath check for students, ensuring experiment laboratory safety, setting emergency rings, dispatching emergency phone cards, and holding casualty prevention rehearsal every semester.

As to the environmental protection, TKU got a NT 1,200-dollar fine ticket from Tamsui Township in September for violation of the rule of garbage disposal. According to the regulation, the penalty could be consecutive if the violation is not improved—with a fine of NT 7,000 dollars per day, which would add up to NT 21,000 dollars a month. TKU has responded actively by classifying garbage carefully before disposal. The fine was stopped. In addition, TKU was fined with some NT 300,000 dollars for overuse of electricity in July. Dean Jeng is to call for every office and section to deal with such a matter. He strongly suggests TKU students to turn off light and air conditioning as they leave classrooms to save energy.

“A university is part of the community. And the university itself is a community. Hence, TKU will cooperate with Tamsui Township to create a safe community and university. Town mayor Tsai Yeh-wei and TKU president C. I. Chang will be the coordinators of the cooperation” Dean Jeng adds. ( ~Chen Chi-szu )