Congratulations - Durham College and UOIT

By Amy England
Chronicle Staff
Th e School administration is working
on ways to improve the campus alert
system and the fl ow of information with
police, after issues were raised about how
they responded to an attack on campus in
late September.
Th ese issues were addressed at a Women’s
Centre luncheon on Oct. 30 with key
players from the college and university.
“We agonized over this, and it was a
struggle,” said Donna McFarlane, VP of
Marketing and Communications for Durham
College. “In retrospect I would have
like to put the alert out sooner.”
Th e fi rst thing that was clarifi ed was the
timeline of events that led up to a campuswide
alert warning students to be aware of
their surroundings but not providing the
details of the attack.
CAMPUS NEWS
“We were notifi ed seven hours later, by
a family member,” said Kim Carr, manager
of public safety. Th ere were some discrepancies
in the information provided and it
led to the delay in the school’s response.
“I will take the hit, but I will not send
out inaccurate information to the campus,”
said Carr. He added that what compounded
the issue was that police did not make
the school aware of the incident.
Carr is currently working with the Durham
Regional Police and wants to provide
a better fl ow of information between the
school administration and police.
Issues were also raised
about how the information
reaches students. Th e current
system is to use MyCampus,
along with plasma
screen bulletins and posters.
But concerns were
raised about the number
of students who check
their emails.
“If you want to have
better communication, allow
students to forward their MyCampus
emails to their private account,” said Eric
Dillane, VP of Campus Life for the Student
Association. “Students know faculty get
the privilege, and if better communication
is your goal, adapting to students is a better
way of getting there.”
Th e schools are currently researching
ways to provide solutions for internal communications.
Carr also made the announcement of a
new security website that will be launched
in January 2008.
Th e site will be dedicated to providing
accurate statistical information about
crimes on campus. It will also provide procedures
and policies for emergency preparedness
that can be downloaded.
“Th e current statistical information
does not tell the proper story,” said Carr. “
It needs to be much more structured and
identifi able.”
Carr would like the school’s security
disclosures modelled after the Cleary Act
in the United States.
Th e act was named in memory of 19year-old
Lehigh University
freshman Jeanne Ann Cleary.
After Cleary was raped
and murdered in her residence,
her parents learned
there had been more than 30
violent crimes the on Lehigh
campus.
Th e Cleary Act, originally
known as the Crime Awareness
and Campus Security
Act of 1990, requires that
schools disclose information about crime
on and around their campuses.
In 1992 the law was amended to require
that schools give victims of campus sexual
assaults basic rights.
It was amended again in 1998 to expand
the reporting requirements.
“It’s a beginning,” said Dr Nawal Ammar,
Dean of Criminology at UOIT.
“We need to create situations where we
are safe and we want to eliminate our victimization.”
The Chronicle November 6, 2007 7
Better campus alert system needed
New security
website to
launch in
January 2008
Walk Safe program
use up from last year
Many students
still feel safe
despite attack
By Eric Laganis
Chronicle Staff
Th e attack on a female student on campus
last month has raised issues concerning
campus safety, but Campus Walk, a
program designed to provide escorts for
students and staff , is working on ways to
make people feel safe.
Judy Kellar, Campus Walk co-ordinator,
said she is working on ways to spread awareness
of the service in light of the Sept. 27 attack
and in general. Th is includes updating
the contact information and hours of operations
on the TV sets around campus and
putting large posters all over the school.
On Oct. 24, Kellar brought a women’s
street survival class to the campus in light
of the attack. She used funding from the
Ministry of Education’s Women’s Campus
Safety Grant to fund the event. She used
the seminar to promote women’s safety as
well as to advertise Campus Walk by having
team members appear at the end of the lecture
to off er escorts to people.
Kellar said the fi rst month of the service
(Sept. 17 to Oct. 24) has yielded 28 clients,
which is an increase from last year when
only fi ve people used it in the same time.
However, she said the Sept. 27 attack did
not infl uence the increase as people had requested
to use the service on the fi rst day it
became available
Despite the attack, many students still
feel safe on campus.
Stephanie Peden, a fi rst-year General
Arts and Science student, feels safe and said
nothing needs to be improved.
“I see lots of security around [campus],”
she said.
Mandy, a second-year Business student
who didn’t want her last name used, said
she feels safe walking around campus, but
that Campus Walk should be more known
to the student body.
“Campus Walk should be promoted
more,” she said.
Kellar has some tips students and staff
can use to ensure their safety when walking
around campus.
“Be aware and alert of your surroundings
during the day and at night” she said.
She added that to help be aware of your
surroundings, people should refrain from
wearing headsets to listen to music, as this
will help them to hear what’s going on.
Kellar also advises that people should
leave their valuable belongings, such as iPods
and laptops, at home to avoid having
them stolen.
“Don’t bring things on campus you can’t
aff ord to lose,” she said.
If you must bring valuable items to
school, keep them secured and concealed,
she said.
Students and staff can access the Campus
Walk service by calling security at extension
2400 on any phone or by visiting
any security post, Kellar said. Th ey can then
have a team member meet them for an escort.
‘
I will take the
hit, but I will not
send out inaccurate
information
to the campus.
’
Kim Carr
Ammar stressed the importance of reporting
assaults.
“It could escalate if you don’t report it,”
she said. Ammar wants women to remember
it is not their fault, and it has nothing to
do with them.
Th e alert that was sent out outlined
ways that women can protect themselves
against attackers.
“After the incident happened, I feel the
alert took a victim blaming approach,” said
Evan Muller-Cheng, president of Student’s
Against Social Injustice (SASI). “I see this
as a male issue: what can be done to better
educate males?”
McFarland would like to see the men on
campus actively taking a role in fi ghting for
violence-against-women issues.
“We are in the process of creating a
committee of men and (working on) how
we can prevent and educate our brothers
on their behaviour,” said Muller-Cheng. He
would also like to see male leaders on campus
be more proactive when looking at the
issues.
Muller-Cheng was pleased that the
schools are taking measures for security
after the events that occurred
“I was a little disappointed that more
students didn’t come out but I was very
happy that we could provide the medium,”
said Allison Hector-Alexander, director of
the Women’s Centre. Hector-Alexander
wants to continue to provide more luncheons
and she hopes that students will
become the stakeholders for security on
campus.