Western Courier

Issue date: 9/18/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Adam Sacasa Fifty-one Blut Light boxes are placed around campus to immediately direct a student to a dispatcher if a student's safety is in jeopardy.

How safe are you on campus? There have been several alleged attacks recently, leaving students feeling uneasy. Constant fears such as rape and assault worry the students of Western Illinois University.

"I won't walk across campus at night alone anymore," said Celeste Cooley, freshman Spanish major.

Most rape and assault cases are influenced by alcohol, and almost all rape cases are considered to fall under the date-rape category.

The Office of Public Safety works diligently to combat such instances. OPS director Robert Fitzgerald said the force works to keep crime down.

"We do our best to try to keep students and campus as safe as possible," he said.

Many safety devices are provided by OPS in order to ensure the students' safety. Fifty-one Blue Light call boxes are dispersed throughout campus so students can easily report an incident that is compromising the safety of themselves and other students on campus. The call box goes directly to a campus dispatcher and works like an intercom system between the student and dispatcher.

OPS also offers an escort service. Students can call OPS at any hour and they will be provided with an

escort to their desired location; however, the escorts travel by foot, not automobile, so students should not expect them to function as a taxi service.

After the four reported recentent batteries, OPS has increased pontrol, especially in parking lot areas where the majority of the incidents have occurred.

Though OPS is keeping a watchful eye over campus, students are still encouraged to be aware of danger and report any suspicious activity they witness.

"If students are victims of crime, they are encouraged to report it to Public Safety so the person responsible can be held accountable," said John Maguire, Assistant Vice President of University Relations.

If for some reason the individual wishes to remain anonymous, he or she has that right. However, he or she is still encouraged to notify OPS to report what was seen to help solve the problem.

The university also has two preventative programs. AWARE is a two-hour class focused on providing safety tips to individuals to keep them out of certain potentially hazardous situations.

The other, Rape Aggression Defense, is a 12-hour class that teaches women maneuvers and techniques to escape from assailants and generally defend themselves against an attack.

OPS currently is in the process of hiring another police officer to protect students. "Nobody on campus wants (the rapes and attacks) to happen," Fitzgerald said. "We want a safe campus."

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