reedom is often called a rite of passage in college. But not knowing how to handle that unbridled time often leads to vulnerability among college students.
Vulnerability – when mixed with alcohol, drugs, and free time – can impair decision making, leading to crimes such as rape, robbery and homicide, experts say.
James Kanan, an associate professor of sociology, said some incoming college students are unsure of how to handle their freedom and unsure of how to exert self-control measures that would help protect them from becoming a victim.
And the peak ages for rape, robbery and homicide are 18 and 19, Kanan said.
There have been at least three high-profile crimes on college campuses in Kentucky since 1998.
In September 1998, a fire at Murray State University’s Hester Hall killed one student and seriously injured another.
In September 2002, a 17-year-old Morehead State University student was allegedly raped by five men in Waterfield Hall.
Then on May 4, 2003, Pellville freshman Melissa “Katie” Autry was raped, sodomized and set on fire in her Poland Hall dorm room.
But overall, crime statistics show college campuses are usually safer than the communities and cities in which they are located.
From 2001 through 2003, there were an average of 47 liquor law and 43 drug law violation arrests on campus per year at Western, according to crime statistics filed with the Office of Post-Secondary Education.
During that same period, burglary was the highest reported crime on the Hill, according to the statistics, averaging 36 per year.
So the lack of occurrence of rape, robbery, homicide and arson on campuses, and the degree to which those major crimes were committed, may have contributed to the attention they received.
“These ‘high-profile’ crimes represent statistical anomalies from the norm,” said John Faine, a professor of sociology, in an e-mail.
In the wake of the incident in Poland, a task force made up of students, parents, staff and members of the community recommended security upgrades, which were later implemented by the university.
But for Catherine Bath, executive director of the Security on Campus Web site, university administrators across the country aren’t doing enough.
“Administrators are definitely part of the problem because they’re afraid to crack down in the correct way,” she said. “They’re afraid their enrollment will drop, afraid students coming on campus will get less than their money’s worth because they won’t get a ’social life.’”
Securityoncampus.org, founded in 1987, is a non-profit organization that works to provide safe college campuses.
It has helped enact six federal laws related to campus security and crime prevention.
Bath suggested that campuses implement practices such as having more tests on Friday and providing more social activities during late hours on the weekend.
Howard Bailey, dean of student life, said universities work diligently to improve student awareness. But in the last 10 years, despite management and technological advances, student awareness probably has not improved.
Student Government Association President Patti Johnson said she thought most Western students felt safe before May 2003. But, she said, they now feel safer because of the security upgrades.
Bath said securityoncampus.org is working to secure a law in Kentucky in the coming year similar to “Robbie’s Law” in Tennessee which was signed by Gov. Phil Bredesen in April.
“Robbie’s Law”, named after East Tennessee State University student Robbie Nottingham, requires Tennessee’s colleges and universities to call on local police in death and rape investigations.
Nottingham apparently died of head trauma after falling from an on-campus apartment balcony in March 2003, although an investigation couldn’t conclusively tell if his death was a suicide, homicide or accident.
Bath called on administrators to develop strict policies with far reaching consequences such as fines and expulsion for binge and underage drinking.
According to the organization, 75 percent of campus violence is tied to alcohol.
Fifty percent of college students are drinking out of control, Bath said, which she labeled as having the equivalent of four or more beers during the course of a night.
She said 25 percent of college students are “drinking all the time.”
Some ways to monitor and deter drinking in dorms, Bath said, would be to have resident advisers check individual rooms for alcohol and drugs. Bath said Western’s policies on that may be a step ahead of the rest of the country.
Kanan said educating students on making responsible decisions when they register would help.
Ultimately, he said, the security and decision-making comes back to the individual.
“I don’t know if a university can change the climate in this attitude toward risky behaviors,” he said.
Reach Keith Farner at news@wkuherald.com.
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