University of Belize Collaborates With Student Association to Host Safety Assemblies

The University of Belize’s Association of Student Governments  issued a released today expressing its sadness, having learned about the senseless murder of eighteen-year-old graphic designer Leroy Cus. The release says “Mr. Cus’ death has traumatized our students at U.B. and also entire families across the nation. This is another eye-opener to many, reminding us of how risky it can be to simply walk home from a bus terminal”. The release noted that while Leroy Cus was not a student at the university, he was a student elsewhere at some point in time and he fits the profile of many U.B. students.  In response to Wednesday night’s murder, the Association of Student Governments is working with the university’s administration and student volunteers to organize a series of safety and security assemblies on each campus over the next two weeks. On Thursday in Belmopan, we spoke with Doctor Martin Cuellar, the Dean of Student Affairs about these upcoming assemblies.

Martin Cuellar

Dr. Martin Cuellar, Dean of Student Affairs

“In the next two weeks, we are having a series of student safety and security assemblies, one on each of our campuses. This will bring together our students to kind of harness their ideas and strategies to add those that I have already discussed to the students and administration. We are very proud that among our student population we have youth parliamentarians, CARICOM ambassadors, representatives from the NGO community, and of course, professional from the public sector. With all of those professional experiences and all the knowledge student are gaining here on campus, they themselves have a lot to contribute. So, we look forward to their voices and ideas joining our. Our main principles, our main objective in increasing our security is to bond together and to imbue this idea and principle of each one taking care of the other, and if we can establish and sustain that campus culture, we will all be stronger and safer. We think it is very important that our students not succumb to a feeling that they have to live in fear.”