Two weeks after the reported sexual assault of a freshman on East Campus and only days after other reported assaults both on and off campus, students and student leaders joined police and Student Affairs administrators Monday night to discuss campus safety.
The audience of 50 to 75 students--which included several Duke Student Government executive election candidates--posed questions to Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and Maj. Robert Dean and Capt. James Schwab of the Duke University Police Department about making the campus safer both in the long-term and short-term.
"This campus is changing," Moneta said. "We're moving into a bigger, more open campus."
In particular, students said they are concerned not just with dormitory and restroom safety, but also with Edens Quadrangle lighting, SAFE Rides effectiveness and other security measures.
Sophomore Alex Niejelow, a DSG legislator who organized the event, outlined what he considered three priorities for the administration--promoting higher visibility, increased lighting and better student education.
Before the forum, Niejelow presented the media with a packet of over 50 e-mails from students responding to a DSG survey, expressing concerns similar to those raised at the forum.
Moneta said he wanted to work with police and other student leaders to craft a plan this semester to consider what safety measures could be taken without sacrificing student comfort, but also questioned whether the current level of casualness on campus is still acceptable. He added that he would also hire a security consultant to help construct that plan.
Moneta remained open to a number of suggestions, such as installing security cameras at various points on campus, making card access stricter at Perkins Library, utilizing more security and patrols and using other technologies for restroom locks, such as DukeCard access.
"I know I don't want to stay in this treadmill of dispatching staff to checking locks every day for tape and glue," Moneta said.
A number of students said they did not feel safe walking to and from Edens Quadrangle--on which the farthest West Campus dorms are located--at night.
Moneta said that with the construction of the West-Edens Link, more permanent lighting will open up the visibility of the area. Before that construction is complete, he and police said they would look into short-term solutions.
Central Campus residents also voiced concern, and one student suggested placing more emergency blue lights and phones nearer to laundry rooms on Central.
Senior Kyauna Miller said that too often, SAFE Rides takes a long time to arrive, and sometimes before 2 a.m., SAFE Rides drivers even tell her to go to the bus stop.
"I don't feel like I should have to fight to get a service students are already paying for," she said, to quiet applause from the audience.
Junior Elizabeth Barney expressed frustration with which off-campus sites SAFE Rides would pick students up or drop them off.
Moneta said he will clarify which sites SAFE Rides services by the end of the week.
Dean asked students to ensure that they do everything possible to ensure their own safety and renewed a call for students to institute Dorm Watch programs on East Campus. Nevertheless, Dean said there has not been a marked increase in phone calls to the police since the slate of recent assaults.
One woman in the audience said she did not even know the police department's escort service phone number--684-2444--and suggested students be given keychains with that information on them.
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