As I’m reading this week’s article in LEO about the increase in crime on the University of Louisville campus, it’s hard not to flash back to the freshman student orientation I attended with my son Josh last month.
The article relates some horrific instances of students who, walking alone, have been randomly attacked. They’ve lost backpacks, computers, or worse. Crime, mostly theft, has doubled on campus from 2008 to 2009. One quote is particularly alarming, from an unnamed sophomore:
“It always scares me to walk around at night. I’ve actually started carrying mace in my backpack and constantly checking my surroundings when I’m walking from the parking lot to my building.”
The University apparently doesn’t want freshmen and their parents to know about the crime wave. Perky SOSers (students who assist in the orientation programs) spent a chunk of one session telling parents how safe they feel walking alone across campus. These were female students, who I remember specifically saying they never worry about walking alone across campus late at night.
One even mentioned leaving the library after 11. In LEO, the lede is about a student leaving the library and getting attacked by four people.
The session’s leaders went on and on talking about all the safety features on campus, like the blue light phones students can use anytime they need an escort from a security officer.
Nothing was said about a racially-charged stabbing that took place this spring, which was the subject of an editorial in the school paper. And while the orientation session pointed out the campus-wide text-messaging system to alert students of dangers, it didn’t mention how it was used in that incident, and the letter sent by President James Ramsey reassuring students they were safe.
Now, I’m not that worried about Josh, who I think is smart enough to take care of himself on campus. But these random acts could happen to anyone, and I am concerned about the message U of L is sending out to freshman and their parents.
I’m not suggesting any kind of cover-up. But it would be nice if the school were more upfront with freshman parents about crime on campus.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Tom // Jul 1, 2009 at 1:57 pm
That is why more people either need to attend Bellarmine or IUS. That way people will really see what a ripoff U of L really is.
2 Shane // Jul 1, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Sounds like U of L needs to take some of the money from their most recent tuition hike and hire more police officers and step up patrols.
3 Clifford Peterson // Jul 1, 2009 at 4:29 pm
How exactly is it a rip-off, especially compared to a small religious school and a branch campus?
4 Philip DeLaney // Jul 1, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Did you say something during these sessions? Failing to speak up in this situation, when you know the truth is, at best, being glossed over, is nearly as bad as the rosy picture that U of L is trying to paint.
5 BigDaddy // Jul 1, 2009 at 8:40 pm
The sad thing is that these attacks around the university have been going on for several years. Does anyone recall the gang outbreak of 2005 where some of the local hoods were trying to stuff people in the trunks of cars. They were hitting everywhere from the Highlands to Buechel over to the University even as far out as places such as St. Matthews and Lyndon. I wasn’t living in town then but came here at least 3 times a week. They need to start looking into cleaning up these areas in the West End. It has a bad enough image the way that it is without anything else happening. But unfortunately, it is a well deserved image especially with hoods such as the Badd News gang and people like that. They need to round up these scoundrels but then again, you’ll have the usual shouts of police brutality and the ever present whining of victim advocates like 2X.
6 Charlie // Jul 1, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Starting to sound a lot like the UK campus but for the fact there haven’t been any rapes like in Lexington.
7 citizen // Jul 1, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Went to UL orientation in May and heard the same stuff from SOSers… gee,do you thing the “open discussion” session with the SOSers was scripted? Guess someone forgot the change the script after the library laptop snatching incident.
8 student // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:05 am
They should start shooting the bad guys on sight?
9 Jessica // Jul 2, 2009 at 8:35 am
In my orientation last year, the university police chief came to speak with us and made a big deal about not walking around campus alone. I didn’t at any point feel like I was misled about the amount of crime – in fact, I went home and ordered some pepper spray right after the orientation because I knew I would be walking around campus at night.
When a crime happens on campus, I am notified immediately by text message and email. I have called the campus police for an escort before, and they came in a relatively short amount of time and escorted me all of the way to my car. The service is there, but most students are too proud or hurried to use it.
Maybe the orientation for undergraduate students is different – I don’t know. But personally I have never once felt misled about the amount of crime on campus. The bottom line is that UofL is in a pretty crappy area of downtown Louisville, and things are going to happen from time to time.
10 Jason Puckett // Jul 2, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Unfortunately, criminal activity on or near campus is just a fact of life. If you think it’s there, check out what’s been going on around the Georgia Tech campus the last few months (including home invasions and a student shot and robbed). NATS is pretty much located right in the heart of Midtown Atlanta.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Source_APD_Addresses_Crime_Near_Ga_Tech_070109
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