For the last 25 years incoming freshmen have gone to Preview and listened to ISU Police Chief Ronald Swan’s speech about safety and campus life, but this will all change next summer when Deputy Chief and Major Aaron Woodruff takes over for Swan.

“I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and have for 25 years. One of the most important things that the university offers to incoming freshmen and parents is the Preview experience,” Swan explained. “We have established a strong foundation of expectations for students and parents and from our point of view it provides a number of very strong recommendations which, if they follow, will reduce their vulnerability to crime and criminal attack.”

Swan gave his last Preview speech on July 14. In the speeches he tries to give students information that will make their time at ISU successful.

“I tell them straightforward and I don’t sugarcoat anything I say. I’m brutally honest, so if you wish to say that’s scaring them I wouldn’t use that definition, but I certainly want to get their attention. I tell them the brutal and honest reality of what they are going to confront,” Swan said.

“Most of what we cover are really common sense strategies that everyone should follow,” Swan explained. “Never leave beverages unattended; that is one of the most under-reported crimes in the nation ... I think I get their attention on that,” he explained.

Woodruff mentioned theft prevention is a key issue as well.

“Just locking your door can prevent a lot of problems, many students treat their dorm rooms like their bedroom at home with an open door where anyone can come and go,” he said.

Swan will miss the interaction with students, parents and Preview guides and feels he has done a good job of getting the students’ attention during his speeches.

“On numerous occasions both students and parents have come to me and remembered what I said and have never forgotten it. In some cases it helped keep them from being a victim of a crime. When you hear those positive comments it means we are doing something right,” Swan said.

Though Swan will not be giving Preview speeches anymore, he does not have plans to retire.

He is training Woodruff in an attempt to cross train officers. He feels Woodruff is very capable of continuing the speeches.

“To my surprise when he first went to the lectern he had it down almost word for word, I think he will do an outstanding job and he is doing an outstanding job,” Swansaid.

“I think I stick to it for the most part. I’ve got it down pretty good,” Woodruff agreed. “I just like the opportunity to be able to interact with the parents and students early on. It’s good to get message out early to them and reinforce it after they get here.

He is, however, adding a bit of his own material into the speech.

“I think I touched a little bit more on the Facebook stuff; we do face a lot of problems where students come in and file reports because someone is harassing them on Facebook,” he said.

The speech has also been tweaked to include information after the shootings at Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech, but most of the content has been consistent over the past 25 years.