News
OU Students Choose Not To Use Safety Options on Campus
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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Crime on Ohio University’s campus continues to increase according to the 2010 Clery Act Compliance Report.
The Clery Act requires college campuses to keep and disclose information about crime on or near their respective campuses in an attempt to maintain students’ safety.
Although arrests for alcohol and drug violations diminished in recent years, the number of thefts, burglaries and assaults at OU actually rose.
The most recent incidents reported to police on campus were two rapes, both documented within the past two weeks.
According to the police report on one of these cases, a young woman was walking home alone at night and was picked up by a man, driven to a lit parking lot and assaulted.
Despite the recent incidents, Ohio University Safe-T Patrol Team intends to prevent such circumstances.
The free service offered to students, staff, and visitors, consists of a walking escort to any location on or near campus seven days a week from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. during academic quarters.
Despite the university’s efforts to keep students safe, some people continue to blow them off.
OU senior Katie Massey doesn’t read all the campus crime alerts.
“It’s just kind of like one of those things where sometimes I take them serious, sometime I don’t. It’s one of those things where if I feel like reading them, I will,” says Massey.
Other universities in Ohio, such as Ohio State University, also have safety programs implemented.
Ohio State University’s Student Safety Escort Service gave 24,000 rides to students last year.
At OU, a total of 374 students used the Safe-T Patrol Team in 2010-11, making it one of the least used safety programs at universities in Ohio.
Sophomore Risa Katz spends many weeknights studying at the library late at night.
“If I was alone, I’d probably walk home alone,” said Katz, implying she feels relatively safe on campus.
Other students may avoid using the service as a means to stay out of trouble.
Freshman Melissa Gajewski and senior Adam Krause both said that intoxicated students may be more reluctant to call for an escort due to certain consequences they could face.
They think that more people might use the service if there was a no repercussion guarantee for intoxicated students.
To contact the Ohio University Safe-T Patrol, call 740-593-4040 and specify your location and destination and a team will arrive within minutes.
Students, faculty, and staff can also call 740-593-4040 in advance and schedule a team to be waiting after a late class or meeting.