Students' safety concerns continue to escalate
Benjamin Engle
Benjamin Engle
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Union College students are increasingly looking over their shoulders as they travel on and around campus in the dark because of recent crimes and safety breaches that have occurred.
Since the mugging of a female member of the class of 2009 on September 20th and the attacking of a male student on Nott Street ten days later, students have been more concerned about their safety while out at night. These concerns, however, are not limited to the weekend. An increasing number of students are afraid to walk alone when leaving the library in the early-morning hours after a member of Gamma Phi Beta was approached on her way from Schaffer Library to the Beuth parking lot by an unknown man.
As a result of the recent crimes involving Schenectady residents and Union students, members of Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Delta Delta, and Sigma Delta Tau have decided to take action against what seems to be an increasing level of crime in the Union campus vicinity. After hearing fears from fellow sisters about the crime around campus, Nicole Silverman, the Membership Vice President of Gamma Phi Beta, decided to represent the three sororities on "Greek Row," an area behind the hockey rink that is home to approximately 200 female students.
In the search for answers and solutions, Silverman wrote a position paper with various proposals for a safer campus and presented them to the administration and campus safety.
"We ask that our concerns and fears be taken into serious consideration and that something be done as soon as possible," Silverman stated.
Within her proposal, Silverman argues that Campus Safety officers are inefficiently used and suggests that they are not deterrents of crime.
"Campus Safety shouldn't be more concerned over the freshmen dorms," Silverman said. "They need to be monitoring the areas where crime happens the most, especially Greek rows and Lennox Avenue. Campus safety officers need to be better trained and should be armed."
While Silverman believes that Campus Safety could make students safer on campus, Christopher M. Hayen, the Assistant Director of the Union Campus Public Safety Department, understands student concerns but thinks campus safety is efficient. "Improvements can always be made, but I believe Campus Safety does a very good job of keeping the campus safe. The officers are pro-active as much as possible in identifying threats to the campus and taking the appropriate action."
Since the mugging of a female member of the class of 2009 on September 20th and the attacking of a male student on Nott Street ten days later, students have been more concerned about their safety while out at night. These concerns, however, are not limited to the weekend. An increasing number of students are afraid to walk alone when leaving the library in the early-morning hours after a member of Gamma Phi Beta was approached on her way from Schaffer Library to the Beuth parking lot by an unknown man.
As a result of the recent crimes involving Schenectady residents and Union students, members of Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Delta Delta, and Sigma Delta Tau have decided to take action against what seems to be an increasing level of crime in the Union campus vicinity. After hearing fears from fellow sisters about the crime around campus, Nicole Silverman, the Membership Vice President of Gamma Phi Beta, decided to represent the three sororities on "Greek Row," an area behind the hockey rink that is home to approximately 200 female students.
In the search for answers and solutions, Silverman wrote a position paper with various proposals for a safer campus and presented them to the administration and campus safety.
"We ask that our concerns and fears be taken into serious consideration and that something be done as soon as possible," Silverman stated.
Within her proposal, Silverman argues that Campus Safety officers are inefficiently used and suggests that they are not deterrents of crime.
"Campus Safety shouldn't be more concerned over the freshmen dorms," Silverman said. "They need to be monitoring the areas where crime happens the most, especially Greek rows and Lennox Avenue. Campus safety officers need to be better trained and should be armed."
While Silverman believes that Campus Safety could make students safer on campus, Christopher M. Hayen, the Assistant Director of the Union Campus Public Safety Department, understands student concerns but thinks campus safety is efficient. "Improvements can always be made, but I believe Campus Safety does a very good job of keeping the campus safe. The officers are pro-active as much as possible in identifying threats to the campus and taking the appropriate action."
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