It was a Saturday night when sophomore Ayerim Salinas was on the phone in her bedroom at River Crossing housing. She heard her curtains moving once, then again.
When she walked out into the living room, Salinas found a guy trying to steal her TV.
Instances like this are uncommon on campus, but they still occur.
Salinas physically fought with the suspect until he ran off. She immediately called 911 and a response team of South Bend Police and campus security arrived within minutes.
“Campus security was great,” she said. “They asked where the guy had gone and took a report. They also did a really good job of staying in contact with me after.”
While the suspect has still not been caught, she felt that campus security did the best job they could. She feels safe on campus, but chose to move out of student housing.
Most agree that the IU South Bend campus is safe.
Sophomore Jason Geyer feels safe on campus because there are so many other students there.
Passionette Calhoun, freshman, sees the police patrolling and the emergency phone stations placed throughout campus and feels secure.
“It seems like there’s always [campus security] out,” she said.
Campus security does patrol the campus daily. A police officer will travel via marked car and on foot between campus and housing during all times of the year. When the weather is nice, officers travel by bike as well, according to Martin Gersey, IUSB Police Chief.
“We have random patrol. The preferred method is on foot,” he said. “But there is a need for motorized patrol, to be able to get from campus to housing quickly.”
While the most common crime on campus is theft, campus security officers are prepared in case something more urgent happens.
Each officer goes through at least 24 hours of training to be able to properly respond to any occurrence. If Gersey feels it is necessary to ensure immediate safety, students are notified of crimes both on campus and in the area through the IU-Notify System.
Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life Stacy Oliver said that housing works closely with campus security to ensure that students living on campus are safe. Resident Assistants also patrol housing nightly.
“A lot of our policies go back to student safety and security, and residents may not always realize that,” said Oliver. “We have a policy about propping doors open, so that people who are just wandering through the area can’t get into buildings.”
Students in an emergency situation are advised to dial 911 or get to the nearest campus emergency phone (marked with a blue light). Students seeking security escorts or other needs can call the 24-hour non-emergency number, which is 520-4239. Campus security’s office phone number is 520-4499 and will be answered anytime Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Campus safety not a problem, most students say
Published: Sunday, February 21, 2010
Updated: Sunday, February 21, 2010
Be the first to comment on this article!