Friday, September 25, 2009
It’s been a week of fright for many young women living in Oliver Hall, 1815 Naismith Drive, after a freshman woman was knocked unconscious and raped in her dorm room last Sunday night.
Annie McKay, assistant director of the Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center, reminds students to be aware of their surroundings. She said students could adopt habits to ensure safety.
“We’re all pretty scared,” Diana Milbourn, Plano, Texas, freshman and Oliver resident, said. Milbourn said she has been afraid to go in and out of her room since the incident occurred. “I’m afraid to take a shower,” she said.
Police said the student was attacked when she returned to her room after dinner at about 6 p.m. The victim said the intruder grabbed her, pushed her against a wall and knocked her unconscious. She said regained consciousness about 45 minutes later and reported to University police that she had been sexually assaulted. The victim’s roommate was not in the dorm at the time of the attack.
Campus and Community Resources
Campus and Community Resources
24 hour Kansas Statewide Crisis Hotline: 1-888-363-2287
The Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center: 785-864-3552
KU Public Safety Office: 785-864-5900
Watkins Memorial Health Center: 785-864-9500
Counseling and Psychological Services: 785-864-2277
Women’s Transitional Care Services: 785-843-3333
Headquarters Crisis Counseling Center: 785-841-2345
Lawrence Crime Stoppers Hotline: 785-841-TIPS
Rape-Victim Survivor Service Advocate: 785-841-2345 or 1-888-899-2345
Capt. Schuyler Bailey, University police spokesman, said students needed to lock their doors at all times and be good neighbors by reporting suspicious behavior and intruders.
In order to enter a dorm on campus, residents are required to swipe a valid student ID card during all hours of the day and night. Students are required to check in with the residence assistants on duty and present their student IDs between the hours of 11 p.m. – 7 a.m., as are their guests.
Safety Tips
Safety Tips
Don’t hesitate to report suspicious activity to police, apartment and complex managers and campus authorities.
Be aware of your environment — someone following you or a suspicious car in your parking lot.
Install good locks on your doors, windows and sliding glass doors.
Keep doors locked — even when you’re home.
Protect personal info on Web sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Vary your normal routine, don’t be predictable.
Don’t leave house keys in common places such as under a mat, above the door or behind a flower pot.
Install and use peepholes.
Walk in well-lit areas and be aware of your surroundings.
Walk with another person. Offenders are less likely to attack pairs or groups of individuals.
Avoid jogging alone, alternate running patterns and times, and know that headphones can interfere with your awareness.
Walk with confidence and self-assurance.
Always trust your instincts.
Take a self-defense course.
Do not attach anything to your key ring that indicates where you live.
Milbourn said she was concerned that anyone could enter her dorm throughout the day because people who didn’t live in the dorms could easily follow an authorized student entering the building.
However, Diana Robertson, director of student housing, said the authorized entrance was effective.
“Like any system, it requires the diligence on behalf of those using the system,” Robertson said.
She said students needed to be conscious of people following them into the dorms and report intruders.
Sydney Matheny, Dodge City freshman and Oliver Hall resident, said even though she locked her door all the time, she too worried that the entrances to Oliver weren’t monitored throughout the day. She said she was also bothered that the door to her room did not have a peephole like the doors in renovated dorms on campus.
“You’re supposed to feel safe in your home, and I don’t feel safe,” Matheny said.
Robertson said Oliver was scheduled for renovation in the “distant future” and student housing was taking suggestions to make students feel safer.
Matheny said since the incident had occurred she made the decision with a group of friends to enroll in a self-defense class.
Annie McKay, assistant director of the Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center, said three self-defense classes were held every semester to teach students how to respond to attacks. The last class offered this semester is scheduled for Oct. 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Ambler Student Recreational Fitness Center. The class is free and anyone can register by calling.
“The point is we’re always considering our safety,” McKay said. “People need to consider safety 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
McKay said students could adopt a number of habits to ensure their safety. She said students needed to be more aware of their surroundings, by maybe taking headphones off while walking, not texting while walking and observing their surroundings. She said little changes in awareness could make all the difference.
— — Edited by Lauren Cunningham
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Comments
Assault reiterates dorm safety importance
It is stories like these, that underscore the safety issues on campus, that led to the creation of sites like www.SecureOnCampus.com. The store was launched this past April and has gotten great feedback from both students and their parents. Worth visiting.
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