Campus Crime : The Dark Side Of The Ivory Tower

Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about

Stephen F. Austin is a beautiful school surrounded by tall pine trees and lakes. With the small population of students that attend this university compared to, for example, the University of Texas, most students and parents would not suspect that many crimes occur on campus. Stephen F. Austin is not high on the crime list compared to other universities, but it is not completely sound either. Last year, around the spring semester, there were several rumored cases of young women being beaten by an unidentified male. Due to these rumors many students did not feel safe walking around campus, especially at night. In the Crime Log for Stephen F. Austin there were a reported of twenty-four burglaries from 2013-2015, and four reported forcible assaults with three of them occurring in on campus housing. This semester a fraternity on campus, Alpha Tau Omega, was accused of sexually assaulting a student during one of their events. The young women claimed to have been drugged and then sexually assaulted by several different men. Grand jurors’ chose not to indict anyone; therefore, the case was dropped.

It would be wrong to say violence ends when you turn the television off or act as if injustice didn’t exist anymore, but if you reflect back on 2016 so far, one of the biggest topics that often dominates the news and blogosphere concerned the high frequency of assaults on college campuses around the country. In the place where many young adults begin to learn who they are and who they want to be while enjoying a comfortable freedom and safety among their peers discovered freedom and safety could not always be guaranteed.

Summary: The article “Rhode Island Schools Report 18% Increase in Sexual Assaults” Arditi explains to us of the unfortunate rise in sexual assault at universities in the Rhode Island area. She gives us statistical evidence of reports by journals and newspapers. These statistics showed an increase of 65 sexual assaults by 11 schools near Providence and a 40 percent increase for 29 New England schools (Arditi). These sexual assaults are due to many conditions of the college, such as, its size, location, culture, and how well it deals with reports of the abuse. Colleges have a rising problem of victims failing to report crimes that were committed upon them. Along with problems with reports, sharing information between law enforcement and college student affairs was an increasing issue. Universities and colleges were not required to share data until a White House task force recommended that these institutions sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

The mainstream media leads many to believe that mass shootings on college campuses are very common, and are in despite need of gun reform. This is actually false information, the truth is that campuses and other schools are among the safest places in America. According to recent studies, the actual homicide rates on campuses are one in one million, considerably less than the nationwide average of fifty-seven million. In addition, other crimes are still proven to be less likely to happen at colleges, rather than in common rural areas. And in most

Reports indicate violence on a college campus are commonly caused by a student against students (Dickerson). Most cases of college violence occurred in the earlier 1990s and 2000s but severely of the incidents out of 272 cases the perpetrators killed 281 people incapacitated 247 or more (Dickerson). With the effective passing of Concealed carry laws, they have caused a possible increase of violence on college campuses (Dickerson). Even though guns on campus seem like a good idea for young adults for safety. Their brains are still developing as they still being perceived as physical mature (Dickerson). Many college students are easily persuaded and pressure to enact in risky actives. They get indulged more with alcohol and drugs staying on campus and it shows one risk students are faced with (Dickson). Dickson believes there are alternative ways to keep college students and faculties safe without the handling of guns on

In 1986, Jeanne Clery was 19 years old living on the campus of Lehigh University. Clery was tortured, raped, and murdered in her dormitory. Both she and her parents thought she was safe, unbeknownst to them, Lehigh University had a high statistic for violent crimes. People believed the history of crime would be a known fact about the university, however, there were no standards for reporting of campus crime events. After the murder of their daughter, Connie and Howard Clery took to Capitol Hill to lobby for change. This paper will discuss the background of the Jeanne Clery Act, how the act came to be, the perception of the act and how well it was received, as well as the impact it had on higher education.

On April 16th 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a student with psychological problems began a two hour killing spree that left 33 dead (Reader). The massacre that occurred at this school is now the worst recorded incident in the history of the United States and eclipses the University of Texas massacre of 1966. In the wake of tragedies like these, students, teachers and administrators propose more measures to make us feel safe on campus. But why weren't these measures in place before? School administrators and police have a responsibility to protect their students and faculty on campus, and these instances clearly shown a lack of fulfilling that responsibility. And yet several campus' refuse to allow law-abiding and

It provides opposing views of the need or lack thereof in regards to carrying a gun on college campuses. This study presents data for violent crimes on college campuses and compares it to the general public.

Crime occurring on campus at The Ohio State University is taken extremely seriously by faculty, students, and parents alike. It is a sensitive issue with numerous different opinions on how it should be handled. Some people believe in knowing as much specific information as possible about the crime and suspect, while others believe the release of this information will just lead to witch hunts and may negatively affect some students due to a multitude of reasons including ethnicity, background, or race. My plan is to discuss these two points of view and some psychological evidence that supports both beliefs.

On October 1, 2015, Christopher Harper-Mercer walked into Umpqua Community College and shot eighteen people. A week later shootings occurred at universities in Arizona and Texas leaving two dead. According to a study in 2013, the FBI identified thirty-nine active shooting cases in educational settings, and these cases accounted for the highest number of casualties(_). With the threat of active shootings in educational settings, many universities are trying to increase security on college campuses in order to protect students and staff members. The need for heightened security allows universities to constantly monitor the activities of students in order to create a safe environment. Many universities, such as Loyola University Chicago, implement guidelines that aid in controlling students and creating docile individuals. At Loyola University Chicago, it utilizes surveillance cameras and identification cards to protect students. Moreover, the need for control transcends surveillance for security reasons and is utilized in academics through the grading

Today thousands of young students go to colleges and universities here in America. With so many young minds placed onto one campus with little to no parental supervision the question is asked: are college campuses a safe place? Yes, most college campuses across America are safe. A study prepared by “the campaign to keep guns off campus” shows that the crime rate for college is monumentally lower than the rate for the city where the campus is located. For example, in 2013 the city of Jacksonville Florida had 452 cases of forcible rape and 3,277 accounts of aggravated assaults. A staggering amount compared to 1 forcible rape and 6 counts of aggravated assaults at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. But what keeps students safe on

“Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault” (RAINN). Rape is a threat virtually anywhere people go, but no place has a higher risk for sexual assault than college campuses. However, many of these occurrences go without penalties against the attacker, and even more are not reported at all. The lack of consequences for the accused indirectly suggests that rape and other forms of sexual assault are allowable and create further problems for the victims of the horrendous actions. Harsher punishments need to be given out for sexual assault on campus, as the current rulings are biased and immoral.

“Colleges and universities occupy a special place in American society. They are much more than a series of buildings and collection of individuals. Instead, they are dynamic living and learning environments where individuals with varying levels of maturity interact, often under stressful circumstances. While recognizing the right of responsible individuals to possess firearms under other circumstances, the unique characteristics of a university campus make the presence of firearms problematic. The shootings that have occurred in recent years at US colleges and universities have generated passionate debate about how best to prevent such violence and whether persons should be allowed to carry concealed guns on campuses. Experts believe there is no credible evidence that students or staff carrying guns would reduce crime. In fact, research has shown that the brains of most college students have not fully developed regarding impulse control and judgment” (Dickerson). Therefore, guns should not be allowed on college campuses because it would lead to an escalation in violent crime, distract from the learning environment, and lead to accidental discharge incidents.

Safety is a tremendous issue on college campuses, and additional procedures need to be taken to prevent crimes from happening. When walking onto a college campus as a young adult, people get a rush of the unknown. The unknown could be going to college parties and late night study groups. College should be like any high school or elementary school and have better security measures to protect their students. The reasons we need these extra steps are to prevent violence, give students a sense of security, and monitor visitors on campus.