Continued vigilance can prevent future attacks
Shannon Holfoth
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Opinion
Student behavior has changed.
Many young women say they now walk with a friend. They remember to lock their doors and check peep holes before letting anyone in. They're vigilant.
Students say they weren't as cognizant of their personal safety only last week. They thought, "It's Bonaventure. Nothing happens here."
The difference?
Something happened here.
Last weekend, police charged a St. Bonaventure student with third-degree rape - a rape allegedly committed on campus, in Devereux Hall early Saturday morning.
But how long will this vigilance last?
Not for long.
The immediate shock factor will die down. People who didn't generally think about safety on campus will go back to their old habits and forget to walk with friends, lock doors and check peep holes. As the gossip and news headlines fade, so will people's awareness.
Consequently, the possibility something like this could happen again rises.
This incident isn't the first of its kind. According to Rick Trietley, vice provost for student life, there were two reported sexual assaults on campus last year. According to the university's 2008 crime report, there was one "forcible sexual offense" reported in 2008, none in 2007 and three in 2006.
Trietley said university officials did not announce these assaults because in those cases, the victim knew the offender. In this case, the alleged offender posed a potential threat because police and campus security officials didn't know who or where he was.
While the university employs security officers, they can't patrol every place every minute. Responsibility for personal safety lies with us, the students.
So even though no one wants to be that jerk who doesn't hold open the residence hall door for someone, we shouldn't do it unless we know the person. We must continue to lock our doors and walk with a friend at night or call security personnel for a ride. University officials should continue to periodically remind students of campus safety tips.
As a student body, let's do everything we can to ensure our own safety and work to prevent this from happening again.
e-mail: holfotsm@sbu.edu
Many young women say they now walk with a friend. They remember to lock their doors and check peep holes before letting anyone in. They're vigilant.
Students say they weren't as cognizant of their personal safety only last week. They thought, "It's Bonaventure. Nothing happens here."
The difference?
Something happened here.
Last weekend, police charged a St. Bonaventure student with third-degree rape - a rape allegedly committed on campus, in Devereux Hall early Saturday morning.
But how long will this vigilance last?
Not for long.
The immediate shock factor will die down. People who didn't generally think about safety on campus will go back to their old habits and forget to walk with friends, lock doors and check peep holes. As the gossip and news headlines fade, so will people's awareness.
Consequently, the possibility something like this could happen again rises.
This incident isn't the first of its kind. According to Rick Trietley, vice provost for student life, there were two reported sexual assaults on campus last year. According to the university's 2008 crime report, there was one "forcible sexual offense" reported in 2008, none in 2007 and three in 2006.
Trietley said university officials did not announce these assaults because in those cases, the victim knew the offender. In this case, the alleged offender posed a potential threat because police and campus security officials didn't know who or where he was.
While the university employs security officers, they can't patrol every place every minute. Responsibility for personal safety lies with us, the students.
So even though no one wants to be that jerk who doesn't hold open the residence hall door for someone, we shouldn't do it unless we know the person. We must continue to lock our doors and walk with a friend at night or call security personnel for a ride. University officials should continue to periodically remind students of campus safety tips.
As a student body, let's do everything we can to ensure our own safety and work to prevent this from happening again.
e-mail: holfotsm@sbu.edu
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