Student Safety on and off a College Campus

 

There are crimes committed by college students, and often on college campuses. The question is how to respond. There are numerous crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors, that college students should be aware of and know how to respond when they come across these situations.

A few examples are, breaking and entering of an automobile with intent to steal, rape, assault, and drug use. The key is knowing how to handle a situation like this, and how to report it so that there is a better chance of student safety.

Breaking and entering of an automobile with the intent to steal is a felony in several states, which is an unknown fact by most college students. Several states follow this law,

“(b) A person commits the crime of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle if, without the consent of the owner, he/she breaks into and enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with the intent to commit any felony or theft. For the purposes of this section, “enters” means to intrude:

(1) Any part of the body; or
(2) Any physical object connected with the body.
(3) Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle.”

 

If a student notices that their car has been broken into and that items from within the car are missing, the student should immediately call either campus or local police and report a breaking and entering of an automobile and theft. They then should write down everything that is missing from their vehicle. The state will the respond according to the State Code for that crime. Each state that does consider this a felony will have it classified differently, whether they classify it as a Class A, Class B, or Class C felony.

 

If one frequently leaves valuables in their vehicle, like a computer or purse, then make sure they are not visible. Lock them in the trunk of the car or push them under the seat so that the valuables cannot be seen by anyone walking past the car. Also, make sure to always lock the car. Always be aware, and never assume that anything kept in a locked car is safe.

 

 

Another common safety issue on college campuses is rape or sexual assault. According to http://www.oneinfouruse.org/statistics.php, “One in four college women report surviving rape (15 percent) or attempted rape (12 percent) since their fourteenth birthday.” Most of the time, rape and assault victims will not report their rape or assault. Rape is far more common among college students then they even realize. According to a study done by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), one in five women admitted to being raped at some point in their lifetime. If you know someone who has been raped and sexually assaulted, encourage them to come forward. Also, drunken consent is not consent.

If a man drugs a woman or gets a woman drunk and then engages in sexual intercourse with her because she is unable to protest, that is not consent. That is rape. “75% of the men and 55% of the women involved in acquaintance rapes were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack” (One in Four). Victims should protect themselves and future victims by reporting rape or sexual assault. Rape and sexual assault does not start in college. 20% of high school students also have admitted to being forced into a sexual act, and half of these victims did not report the incident.

 

Who are these rapists? Studies have shown that 60% of rapists are caucasian male, and between 62% and 84% of rape or assault survivors knew their attacker. Also, “More than one in five men report ‘becoming so sexually aroused that they could not stop themselves from having sex, even though the woman did not consent’” (One in Four). The law does not care how strongly the attacker was aroused or how strong the urges are, having sex with someone else without their consent is rape. Also, rapists are more likely to have a history of sexual abuse at a young age than any other kind of criminal offender. Research shows that “55% of gang rapes on college campuses are committed by fraternities, 40% by sports teams, and 5% by others.”

 

Who are the victims? 41% of college women who survived rape were virgins at the time of the rape, and 42% never reported their rape. Also, “84% of rape survivors tried unsuccessfully to reason with the man who raped her” (One in Four). Victims are not limited to women. Men have survived and occasionally reported having been raped, and 98% of the time it is by another man. Rape and assaults can happen anywhere, whether

• in the victim’s home (40%)

• in the home of a friend, family member, or neighbor (20%)

• outside, away from the home (10%)

• or in parking garages (8%)

Always be careful, and try never to walk across an empty college campus, parking garage, or street alone or unarmed. A lot of female college students carry pepper-spray, some carry a taser. Although it can be hard for a female to fight off a man who is trying to pin her down, having some sort of self defense can be helpful.

There are a few ways to make sure that rape gets reported. The victim can call the police directly to report the rape, and since 62-84% of victims know who their attacker is, they may be able to identify to the police who raped them. Another way to report a rape is to go to the hospital. The nurses and doctors at a hospital are required by law to report a rape, and if the victim is embarrassed or ashamed, they can have the hospital call for them instead. Although there is no law that says a victim is required to report a rape or sexual assault, it protects the victim and future victims from the attacker. Also, victims should still report an attempted rape. Even if the attacker decides not to go through with the rape, attempted rape is still a serious offense.

 

A third crime that students should be aware of is substance abuse. 32.3% of college students use marijuana. That makes marijuana the most commonly used illegal drug among college students. College students have also been shown to use LSD, MDMA, cocaine, crack, heroin, amphetamines, sedatives, and tranquilizers. 50-60% of college seniors, however, have abused unprescribed Adderall to help them study, side effects of which include nausea, paranoia, nervousness, loss of appetite and trouble sleeping. Mixing Adderall with alcohol (82.1% of college students drink alcohol) can lead to mania, psychosis and breakdowns. On top of abusing Adderall use, the average student spends over ten hours a week partying, and only about seven hours spent studying.

 

According to Daily Info Graphic, the average college student’s “drug” of choice is alcohol. While 82% of college students drink, 50% of those college students admitted to having blacked out. Male students, on average, drink more per month than female students, with their 82 drinks per month to the female’s 59 drinks per month. Most college students do not realize the consequences behind drinking.

“31% of students meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of alcohol abuse each year, 25% of students face academic consequences as a result of alcohol abuse each year, 11% of students damage private property while intoxicated each year” (Daily Info Graphic).

 

Students are told not to frequently drink or use drugs to prevent damage to their liver, but that is not the only consequence. “90% of campus rapes are fueled by drugs or alcohol. 31% of students have missed a class due to drug or alcohol abuse, and 22% of students have failed an exam due to drug or alcohol abuse.” That does not even include the number of freshman who will drop out of college each year due to drug or alcohol abuse: which is approximately 159,000 students (Daily Info Graphic).

 

Although drugs and alcohol might be a temporary escape from stress and responsibility, a student ultimately needs to make the choice and decide if it is worth it in the long run. A student’s time will be better spent if they focus their time and energy on their classes as opposed to having a good time. There needs to be a reasonable balance. Abusing drugs and alcohol, and especially too often, leads to students being nonchalant about their responsibilities, and this can include their classes and homework.

 

College students probably know plenty of fellow students who abuse alcohol and drugs. First and foremost, they should try to reason with them. Students are more influential to each other than they realize. If they are unable, however, to persuade against the use of drugs and alcohol, then the student needs to take their fellow students health and safety into consideration. There are a few ways to report substance abuse. One way is through campus administration. A student can also notify counselors, family members, and the police. A rehabilitation facility may have to be an option. Take into consideration, as well, that this can sometimes cause long term damage to a person’s record, so be sensitive to the long term consequences of reporting a student for substance abuse.

 

 

Automobile break-ins and thefts, rape and sexual assaults, and substance abuse are three crimes that are common among college students and on college campuses. Being aware of these crimes, and knowing a few ways to help prevent these crimes are influential to college students everywhere. Student safety is an important matter, and knowing how to prevent break-ins to cars, how to be aware of rapists and reporting sexual crimes, and how to handle substance abuse are all things that students should know. If more students take these simple tips and facts into account, then there could be an increase of student safety one campuses nationwide.

 

 

Sources:

“Reporting Rape.” RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. USA Network, ABC Entertainment, Target, General Mills, Oxygen, Lifetime Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

“Sexual Assault Statistics.” One In Four USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

Tim. “College Drug Use [infographic].” Daily Infographic RSS. N.p., 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.