I never expected to spend my senior year of college fearing for my life. But at the beginning of my final semester at Duke, that is exactly what has happened.
The armed robbery of an unsuspecting student less than 10 feet from the border wall of East Campus at 9:30 Saturday evening truly undermines the notion that students are safe at Duke. Administrators and students have long taken our security for granted on and around campus, but this most recent incident-coupled with a similar one in the Whole Foods parking lot on the other side of East last semester-seriously questions that presumption.
As an off-campus resident who traverses the Trinity-Buchanan intersection every day and who lives only 100 yards from the scene of the crime, I am beginning to wonder whether the Duke-in-Durham experience has really been worth the risk.
Unfortunately, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta's e-mail did little to assuage my fears. First, I take little comfort in the idea that Durham police are investigating the case. Minor robberies are of little importance in such a crime-ridden town, and the typical "18 to 35-year-old African-American male" portrait of the criminal could describe at least 10,000 Durham residents.
More importantly, however, is the casual manner of the administrative response to growing security issues at Duke. In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech and the rise in violence at schools across the country, our university has apparently done little to address the problem.
We all received that beautifully designed "emergency" packet over the break, but I was shocked to learn that it was solely focused on crisis notification and parental updates. It looked more like a PR piece designed to convince parents that the $45,000 annual investment in their children's education won't be forfeit for lack of child than a detailed accounting of measures the administration has taken to improve campus security.
Despite Moneta's (and the Duke University Police Department's) standard security advice, precaution and common sense only go so far. After all, this latest crime happened at 9:30 p.m., which is way earlier than what one would think is a dangerous hour to walk at the edge of campus alone. And it isn't always easy to get a few people to accompany you on your every travel excursion throughout the day (because most students just don't have that many friends). Recall, too, that last semester's armed robbery happened to three students walking together.
Moreover, I have personally experienced the monumental difficulty of successfully procuring transportation from a SafeRides vehicle, despite my best attempts at impersonating a scared female student. I'm fairly confident that now they just screen my calls, because that's what I'd do if I knew I'd never be held accountable for dereliction of duties.
Sadly, I speak from experience. My house was broken into twice over the summer; I receive a break-in or assault report at least weekly on the Trinity Park neighborhood listserv; and I have personally seen "suspicious" individuals "study" my house and its neighbors from afar on several occasions this year.
The population of students living around East Campus is sufficiently large that Duke should act to protect them. After all, Central Campus is now patrolled by an army of security guards because of prior security issues, so why can't Duke do the same along East's stone wall?
We should also establish an after-dark transportation service for off-campus students so that they are never forced to walk to their residences at night. At the very least, SafeRides should be required to perform this duty and actually follow through on it, instead of not answering the phone and refusing legitimate requests when they are received.
And let's not forget the blatant hypocrisy of DUPD's role in this matter. Duke will not hesitate to send Duke police to investigate and punish students for reported violations that occur off-campus, so why shouldn't they also be sent on routine patrols throughout the neighborhood and investigate any suspicious activity? If we're enough of a concern to justify off-campus policing of our behavior, then we ought to be worthy of official protection as well.
I'd like to think that this problem will just go away if I forget about it. But, in reality, inaction will only lead to more crimes. It's only a matter of time until some unlucky student loses their life for a few trinkets they happen to be carrying at the time.
Jon Detzel is a Trinity senior. His column normally runs every other Tuesday.
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