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May 09, 2006

Crime, concern increases after recent incidents

Walking around campus used to feel safe. Rewind back to the nonchalant, care-free attitude with which students used to see their environment before the latest attacks occurred. Kids were not naive or lacking common sense; the relatively crime-free campus made one feel aware, not in danger.

But that universal feeling of safeness has evaporated after the recent stabbing, confrontations, and attempted muggings. These crimes, which have informed the community conscious about a real threat, have been discussed both by the university and students’ broad, word-of-mouth stories. Without a clear, detailed, accurate statement about the events from the university, students’ communication with each other on the topic has acted as a supplement to the scant university e-mails. The e-mails are neither straightforward with the facts or all-inclusive with reporting every event. Reading the first e-mail sent out detailing the crime, a student would think that Will Grant was just “assaulted and robbed.” Watching any major local news station, one would know Grant was stabbed.

The minute discrepancies between the actual crime and what students are told by Hamline officials is not the only problem in the issue of awareness.

As important as it is to have facts about “major incidents” like the recent stabbing, it is also vital to release information about smaller and less dangerous confrontations. Being told about crimes is absolutely essential, but students would also benefit from hearing about the less-pressing security events. Clearing up ambiguities and disproving widespread rumors would enhance students’ awareness of what is actually happening on campus.

Other criticisms of the Safety and Security office and treatment of crime on campus have arose. Students are animatedly discussing long-standing grievances about Safety and Security, including long response times to calls, unenthusiastic and delayed escorts, and the feeling that one is forsaken by Hamline security as soon as one steps foot outside campus boundaries.

The recent incidents have brought security to a new level; increased non-student personnel and more surveillance and patrolling are notable new improvements. A change, I think, that was long overdue.

Responsibility for a lackadaisical attitude about campus safety belongs to both the administration and the students, to some degree. While it is comforting now to see increased security and patrols, the same amount of heightened security might have been received less agreeably a couple of months ago. The bustling security office may have appeared to be a Big Brother rather than a necessary precaution before all these attempted muggings and crimes occurred.

Although students’ attitudes about Safety and Security might have changed, the overall need for improvement seems to be generally held. Which is why after this semester ends, the previous levels of security cannot replace the current resources Safety and Security has been enhanced with. True, St. Paul police may not always be around to patrol the campus consistently as they reportedly are now, but it’d always be great to know that if an escort is needed, there are non-student Safety officials that can at least make walks feel safe.

Posted by dwright at May 9, 2006 05:16 PM

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