The Office of the Dean of Students plans to host a safety forum Thursday night for students, faculty and staff to address the recent surge of crime in the University of Wisconsin community.

Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam, Madison and UW Police departments, Associated Students of Madison and UW Campus SAFE Nighttime Service will make short presentations before opening the floor for open discussion, which will take place in room B10 of Ingraham Hall.

Berquam said the goal of the forum is to expose the issue of campus safety and offer ways for students to address the issue, as well as welcoming suggestions from the audience.

"Students are our brightest asset," Berquam said. "It is really putting it out there and asking them, 'Do they have any ideas of things we should be doing that we're not — or are there things we are doing that we shouldn't be?'"

Berquam added the safety forum is also about students taking responsibility for their personal safety.

In an effort to take such responsibility, ASM Chair Dylan Rath said he and ASM Campus Relations Chair Christie Penn would be presenting the ASM safety campaign — titled Call to Action — at Thursday's forum.

Rath said ASM used to have a safety committee that was since eradicated, and that Call to Action is the student government's new approach to the pertinent issue.

"Students need to be aware of walking alone at night, and who is vulnerable for being a victim," Rath said.

Rath added ASM's safety campaign also aims to find ways to decrease the number of attacks on campus.

"A lot of students don't read about safety resources because it's not a concern if they haven't been attacked," he said.