Unsafe in any dorm

Parents Forum
1

<p>I just heard a very disturbing story from the parent of a child in my D's graduating class - would be a soph in college this year. I can't share too many details, other than I will say this occurred at much lower tier college than typical for CC, a regional public university that my low B average son could conceviably attend.</p>

<p>This kid left after one semester, and at the time he left, was living in fear in his own dorm room. The young man would move his bed across the door, in order to feel safe enough to sleep - just think of the fire hazard. He had been threatened, had things stolen. A roomie flunked out and left after only a few weeks, so he was left in the room alone.</p>

<p>Anyone out there had similar experiences? More common in lower tier schools? More common in larger schools? Urban schools?</p>

2

<p>One student at a popular Midwest LAC said her roommate had a psychotic break first semester freshman year. Very unsettling.</p>

3

<p>there was just a story this morning on Good Morning America about safety in college dorms.</p>

<p>Nov. 27, 2006 — After the long Thanksgiving weekend, many of the country's college students are back in their dorm rooms.</p>

<p>While parents may think their kids are safe, Bob Stuber, "Good Morning America's" safety contributor, recently found some shocking holes in campus security. </p>

<p>Fraternity and sorority houses are vulnerable to predators. At a prestigious university in California, hundreds of students live in frat and sorority houses surrounded by high-crime neighborhoods.</p>

<p>College senior Elliot Kirschenmann said that three bicycles had been stolen from his residence — and some say the crimes are getting worse and more frightening.</p>

<p>"Sometimes guys will like just jump out of a car and be like, you know, 'Give me, give me, your wallet,' or whatever," said sophomore and frat member Barry Rosellini. </p>

<p>Opportunities to Break In Everywhere</p>

<p>Campus police admit that the neighborhood crime rate is consistently high. </p>

<p>But, they say, some of the crimes — especially bike thefts and drunken assaults — are committed by students themselves.</p>

<p>Stuber asked sorority sisters Sheri Butler and Loretta Paidla whether they could tell the difference between a student and a nonstudent just by looking at them. </p>

<p>"For the most part — yes," Paidla said. "Age, the way they act, the way they dress."</p>

<p>But Stuber found that it was not so hard for an outsider to trespass into a college residence. </p>

<p>Posing as a stranger that needed to use a phone book, he easily talked his way into a sorority house and minutes later, did the same at a fraternity house. </p>

<p>Another ploy commonly used is to wait behind a legitimate dorm resident until they unlock the front door, then slip in and roam the hallways. Stuber noticed a handful of student houses with their front doors purposely propped open.</p>

<p>There are windows of criminal opportunity everywhere. </p>

<p>Rooms can be broken into through fire escapes and balconies. Intruders can lower themselves from the roof and step on the air conditioner to climb into an open window, or gain access by stepping on a fence.</p>

<p>Vans parked beneath a window can also be dangerous. For intruders, the vehicle is just like a front porch. They stand on the van, step on to the air conditioner, and go right inside the window.</p>

<p>Even a security fence is nothing more than a challenge. </p>

<p>Intruders can spread the bars apart, cut them, or just jump the fence. If there's a tree nearby, they can climb it just like a ladder — taking them right to the window.</p>

<p>Tips to Stay Safe</p>

<p>How can students stay safe?</p>

<p>Keep doors and windows locked, even those on higher floors. </p>

<p>If there's a security system, use it. Lock security gates and monitor security cameras. </p>

<p>Don't let in everyone who buzzes the intercom. Ask why they're at the door and make sure someone in the dorm/house knows them. </p>

<p>If trees surround dorms and fraternity/sorority houses, ask officials to prune them back away from the building. </p>

<p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=2681073&page=2%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=2681073&page=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>
[quote]
The young man would move his bed across the door, in order to feel safe enough to sleep

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Couldn't he just lock his door? Why wasn't the lock good enough?</p>

5

<p>Cangel, that is nothing compared to an incident my wife encounted as an RA in a frosh dorm at RPI. One of her co-eds had convinced herself that Hitler was still alive and was studying ChemEng to participate in the new Reich uprising. She even played martial music after class each day and marched up and down the hall outside her room.</p>

<p>She did have a room mate whose bf liked to provoke her more often than not. Well she finally snapped, pulled a hunting knife and cornered the bf. Enter the intrepid RA, my sweet future wife. Well she talked her down, releasing both the bf and the knife. Outside the room and out of sight were at least 20 other RA's who had been alerted to the crisis.</p>

<p>The student was required to take a medical withdrawal and could not re-enroll until cleared by several psychologists. She evidently did return and resumed studies without incident.</p>

<p>Harvard has reported that as more than 33% of its students experience episodes of clinical depression and this phenomenon is not restricted to harvard. People who think that the predominance of binge drinking is merely a misguided attemp to party hearty is ignoring a significant cause of this destructive behavior.</p>

6

<p>NE Mom - I'm not sure about the lock, but I think there was some concern that the threatening notes were left by someone who had a key - maybe got a key earlier. The Mom was convinced that there was some gang activity going on, I don't know if that was true or not.</p>

<p>My reason for bringing this up, is that this school on the face of it would seem to be very safe - not fitting any of the common wisdom's definition of a place to be wary. I'm not naive, I know that no place is completely safe, but this was very unsettling. Lower tier state unis in my experience don't have a lot of the resources for "coddling" or monitoring dorm students, but I was hoping for better than this.</p>

7

<p>I live in Massachusetts, and MIT has had problems with depression and suicide. Apparently it is tough to be the best at your local high school and even tougher to be the best at elite schools. I think sometimes students put too much pressure on themselves (with or without parental help) that creates alot of emotional problems and physical problems.</p>

8

<p>Security is always an issue on college campuses. People who are up to no good seem attracted to campuses where they know students often let down their guard and may be under the influence.</p>

<p>The propping and holding of locked doors has always been a problem. The ABC news desk must have forgotten the lectures they got as students about doing that...</p>

<p>Anyway, the case Cangel's talking about is pretty extreme. I haven't had any experience at lower tier schools, but perhaps with more students being local, there's a blurred line between on and off campus.</p>

9

<p>Is this part of the diversity, that we prize so highly?</p>

10

<p>I really like to think that MOST dorms & campus housing is pretty safe & the biggest concerns are primarily burglary & theft of possessions. So far, my S hasn't mentioned any safety concerns at USC, nor have my nieces who all attended different Us (UCDavis, UOr & Notre Dame). Of course, there are ways for folks intent on theft, assault or worse to get into any living quarters & students tend not to be careful about security. Guess it's important for us & the residential living staff to remind our kids that security is something they need to keep in mind, particularly RE living areas.
Don't really know about whether security depends on the tier of the U & have not heard that suggestion previously.</p>

11

<p>To extent Himom's comments, a lot of the security problems are brought on by the students themselves. Things like propping security doors open. Like not locking bikes properly.</p>

<p>My own D had her rear bike tire stolen because she put her U lock through the frame and front wheel. We bought her a new wheel. So she locked her bike through the rear wheel and had the front one stolen. Slow learner? who knows.</p>

<p>At any rate, campus security is a problem everywhere, urban, rural, big, small. Most of it is property crime. After all, the thieves go where the stuff is and the pickings are easy. </p>

<p>Regarding the OP's story, I wonder where the dorm administration was regarding all this? Did the student talk to anyone? Colleges have their own self interest to protect (legal liability) in keeping a safe environment, and I'd be surprised if a college allowed an unsafe condition to continue.</p>

12

<p>Yea, the students are encouraged to tell their RAs/RC &/or campus security if there are any issues they have regarding their housing, just like later in life they need to let their apartment manager/landlord and/or police know about security issues once they're living independently.</p>

<p>Sometimes, it's tough to sort out without knowing the situation well how much of it has to do with the particular student & any mental health issues & how much is actually a dangerous situation.</p>

<p>Back in the 70s, my room mate dated a man who always wore a black cape & lived in a van, convinced that he was being pursued by federal agents. We persuaded her to discontinue seeing him & protected her by telling him that she was never there when he tried to reach her. He eventually gave up, but it was creepy/scary for a while. We never thought to tell the RA or campus security.</p>

13

<p>With regards to theft, I have to say that some students just ask for it. Clearly the student who barricaded himself into his room at night was not asking for it, but I've seen students who leave their laptops in the library to hold the table for when they come back several hours later (tables in the library can be scarce sometimes), leave their room doors not only unlocked but wide open while they go take a shower, leave stuff in the communal lounge for weeks at a time. Sure enough, stuff gets stolen like this all the time--it's the number one crime reported on our campus and probably others too. </p>

<p>As for more violent crimes like muggings or whatever, I can't say I've ever heard of one first hand on campus, but I know my mom was terrified of it when I told her I was going to NYC. I think urban universities are well aware of the added concerns about going to an urban school, for example, students here have to swipe ID cards and pass by a guard to get into any dorms or the library, and you can be restricted from one or all dorms. From what I've heard about other schools, this is not the norm, but I don't see why it isn't, because it's just much safer. There are some dorms on campus (the ones mixed with city buildings) that don't require ID swiping, and there was an incident last year with some guy walking in and standing in the women's bathroom peeping.</p>

<p>If your school takes the necessary precautions, and you use common sense to fill in the rest, I don't see why you can't feel safe at any school. Now whether or not your school takes these things into account is another matter, but it's something that's worth looking into when looking into colleges (but something that I didn't think to look into back then, and just lucked out).</p>

14

<p>Even with ID swiping, students have to make sure not to allow others to tag along with them, as frequently happens in college settings & later life apartment & similiar living. As a "courtesy," many folks will allow others to tag along with them, not thinking the person who "tagged along" when they swiped their ID poses any security risk ("looks" like an OK person).</p>

<p>At USC, the kids swipe IDs to get into housing areas as well, but I'm sure that folks sometimes allow "tag alongs" (or honestly might not even notice them). Us & apartments can remind & remind, but it's up to the individuals to be alert & consistent about not allowing "tag alongs" into secured areas.</p>

15

<p>Actually, here you give your ID to a guard behind a desk in the lobby, and he/she swipes it, and you have to sign in all guests, and the guests leave a picture ID with the guard; this kind of prevents the tag-along problem, but I've seen that at other schools I've visited.</p>

16

<p>Sounds like your school has better security than most, including the sign-in & picture ID of guests, Impressive, but I don't think the set-up you mentioned is common for most Us or private living quarters once out of the U. Tag-alongs are a notorious problem, even in secure buildings we are so used to "politely holding the door" for others. I know of just a few worksites that have a guard that requires IDs, watches the swiping of IDs etc. It is pretty labor-intensive to have that guard there all the time.</p>

17

<p>"Is this part of the diversity, that we prize so highly?"</p>

<p>edad,</p>

<p>I'm sorry I don't get your point here? Is your assumption what I think you are saying that the crime is generated by people of color? Is that what you're saying?</p>

18

<p>I agree with HImom; I think it has something to do with location. Like I said, my school is in NYC, and I visited NYU as well, and they had much the same security system. I think the enhanced security system may be a response to security concerns of living in a big city. Ironically, dorms in big cities may be safer than schools in more suburban or rural areas (although, take this with a grain of salt, because it's based mostly on my anecdotes, but it's something I've noticed).</p>

19

<p>That's leaving picture ID at desk is what they did at Manhattanville and that was in the 70"s !!! My sister had a problem of drunk guys hiding in the bathroom at Dartmouth for a " peek " . Luckily , my D's school ( swipe ID , RA door's open by front door ) is in a very rural place and they seem stressfree from that kind of problem but I do worry when she leaves behind her computer and guitar on vacations ( Should I put them on our home insurance ??). My D's campus is so neat that they can leave bikes ( they also have campus bikes for free use ) all over with out a worry .</p>

20

<p>The DPS has a very good rep at USC for quick & effective response, which is I'm sure at least partly because of folks' concerns about its proximity to Watts & other "bad areas" of LA. At this point, I don't believe they have a guard at the doors, but they do have the card swipe system, as did most of the Us we toured. I HOPE that in big cities, kids are a bit more careful about tag-alongs, but don't really know.</p>