K-State police log has been quiet for the last couple of weeks. I called Officer Troy Lane and he said he is trying to train somebody to take it over for him and he doesn't know when it will be issued again.
This service to the K-State community should not be allowed to lapse for long.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
A word about Sam Brownback
I'd like to thank Sen. Sam Brownback for something he did about this time last year (has it been that long ago?) At the time, I had asked K-State for a review of residence hall security and they had agreed to do so, but I left an email in the Senator's Web site to make the case to him as well, since I am well aware he is a favorite son of K-State and Pat Bosco, et al.
I got a call the next morning from one of Sam's staffers in KC and I laid out the case for a review of residence hall security at K-State, and I pointed out that K-State's standards were not as tight as KU, and I also said I didn't think KSU was very accommodating as to our particular case.
The staffer said my complaint wasn't in their "jurisdiction" and said it sounded like I needed a lawyer. In the end, he agreed to pass on my concern to the Board of Regents.
After my conversation, I sent Sen. Brownback another email expressing my disappointment in the staffer's response.
A couple of days later, I got a letter written by Brownback himself, who said he made a personal call on behalf of my concerns to K-State. That he would take time to do that was most appreciated and won't be forgotten, no matter what else has transpired.
I got a call the next morning from one of Sam's staffers in KC and I laid out the case for a review of residence hall security at K-State, and I pointed out that K-State's standards were not as tight as KU, and I also said I didn't think KSU was very accommodating as to our particular case.
The staffer said my complaint wasn't in their "jurisdiction" and said it sounded like I needed a lawyer. In the end, he agreed to pass on my concern to the Board of Regents.
After my conversation, I sent Sen. Brownback another email expressing my disappointment in the staffer's response.
A couple of days later, I got a letter written by Brownback himself, who said he made a personal call on behalf of my concerns to K-State. That he would take time to do that was most appreciated and won't be forgotten, no matter what else has transpired.
Collegian Edit
Here is the Collegian edit on dorm security:
After the most deadly shooting in U.S. history Monday at the Virginia Tech campus, universities across the country are considering new security policies.One of the areas in which K-State is looking to improve security is its residence halls.Beginning next semester, students will need to show identification and register at the front desk when entering a residence hall after 9 p.m. In the past, students who lived in the halls could enter the building by scanning their K-State ID cards to unlock the door.The measures taken are necessary. Previously, any guest - or even random people - could follow residents into the building without any sort of security check.It is not a big inconvenience for students, whether they live in the hall or not, to provide proper identification when entering a place in which hundreds of college students live for much of the year. Many universities like KU already have adopted similar policies.In previous semesters, nearly anyone could enter the halls, one way or another. This is potentially harmful to students who do not lock their doors or are up late at night. Hopefully this measure, along with future considerations, will change this.Since thousands of students live in the halls, it would be nearly impossible to keep track of every single resident or guest in the hall. But a measure like the one K-State is instituting will help significantly. And while it might not repel all possible intruders, this will add some much-needed security.
TK: While many students see the announcement of dorm security measures as a response to Va. Tech tragedy, the wheels have been in motion for some time. One area I think K-State overlooks in its security upgrades is the use of cameras at the entrances and lobbies in the dorm. Those cameras could help protect residence hall staff as they enforce after hour security measures.
After the most deadly shooting in U.S. history Monday at the Virginia Tech campus, universities across the country are considering new security policies.One of the areas in which K-State is looking to improve security is its residence halls.Beginning next semester, students will need to show identification and register at the front desk when entering a residence hall after 9 p.m. In the past, students who lived in the halls could enter the building by scanning their K-State ID cards to unlock the door.The measures taken are necessary. Previously, any guest - or even random people - could follow residents into the building without any sort of security check.It is not a big inconvenience for students, whether they live in the hall or not, to provide proper identification when entering a place in which hundreds of college students live for much of the year. Many universities like KU already have adopted similar policies.In previous semesters, nearly anyone could enter the halls, one way or another. This is potentially harmful to students who do not lock their doors or are up late at night. Hopefully this measure, along with future considerations, will change this.Since thousands of students live in the halls, it would be nearly impossible to keep track of every single resident or guest in the hall. But a measure like the one K-State is instituting will help significantly. And while it might not repel all possible intruders, this will add some much-needed security.
TK: While many students see the announcement of dorm security measures as a response to Va. Tech tragedy, the wheels have been in motion for some time. One area I think K-State overlooks in its security upgrades is the use of cameras at the entrances and lobbies in the dorm. Those cameras could help protect residence hall staff as they enforce after hour security measures.
Monday, April 16, 2007
CU responds
CU responds to Virginia shooting
BOULDER (KWGN) — The University of Colorado at Boulder is responding in a number of ways to today's shooting at Virginia Tech including offering students counseling services, and a variety of community outreach efforts in residence halls.In addition, the campus will issue reminders on safety precautions."Our entire campus community is stunned by the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech," said Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson. "I want all our CU community, parents and families to know that we are monitoring this situation carefully and that we do not believe at this time that CU students are threatened in any way."Also, we have made counseling resources available on campus to those who might be affected by this horrendous crime. I believe this awful moment in the history of American higher education underscores the need for all of us to take strong measures to prevent violence in all aspects of American life. As that struggle continues, we send our thoughts and prayers to the members of the Virginia Tech campus community."Spokesman Bronson Hilliard said, "The campus is communicating with CU-Boulder students internally to provide them with information on counseling and other support services that are available."Students also are being sent reminders to observe basic security protocols including locking their doors, not allowing anyone they don't know into the residence halls and reporting anyone who acts suspiciously, Hilliard said.CU-Boulder is increasing the frequency and staffing of security patrols for campus housing facilities. Residence hall staff members are receiving information on how to discuss the tragedy with students and to update all hall residents on safety issues."We're going to provide community outreach services in our residence halls this evening, and we'll be continuing our outreach efforts as long as our students need assistance," said Deb Coffin, CU-Boulder's assistant vice chancellor for housing administration. "The university also will work to provide assistance and outreach to every student who can be identified as having a connection to the state of Virginia or to similar local and national tragedies."CU-Boulder students affected by the shooting and who wish to contact a campus counselor are encouraged to call or visit any of the following offices: Counseling and Psychological Services, 134 Willard Hall, (303) 492-6766; Office of Victim Assistance, 217 Willard Hall, (303) 492-8855; Center for Multicultural Affairs, 118 Willard Hall, (303) 492-5667; the Office of Psychological Health and Psychiatry at Wardenburg Health Center, (303) 492-5654; and the Faculty & Staff Assistance Program, 223 Willard Hall, (303) 492-2172.
BOULDER (KWGN) — The University of Colorado at Boulder is responding in a number of ways to today's shooting at Virginia Tech including offering students counseling services, and a variety of community outreach efforts in residence halls.In addition, the campus will issue reminders on safety precautions."Our entire campus community is stunned by the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech," said Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson. "I want all our CU community, parents and families to know that we are monitoring this situation carefully and that we do not believe at this time that CU students are threatened in any way."Also, we have made counseling resources available on campus to those who might be affected by this horrendous crime. I believe this awful moment in the history of American higher education underscores the need for all of us to take strong measures to prevent violence in all aspects of American life. As that struggle continues, we send our thoughts and prayers to the members of the Virginia Tech campus community."Spokesman Bronson Hilliard said, "The campus is communicating with CU-Boulder students internally to provide them with information on counseling and other support services that are available."Students also are being sent reminders to observe basic security protocols including locking their doors, not allowing anyone they don't know into the residence halls and reporting anyone who acts suspiciously, Hilliard said.CU-Boulder is increasing the frequency and staffing of security patrols for campus housing facilities. Residence hall staff members are receiving information on how to discuss the tragedy with students and to update all hall residents on safety issues."We're going to provide community outreach services in our residence halls this evening, and we'll be continuing our outreach efforts as long as our students need assistance," said Deb Coffin, CU-Boulder's assistant vice chancellor for housing administration. "The university also will work to provide assistance and outreach to every student who can be identified as having a connection to the state of Virginia or to similar local and national tragedies."CU-Boulder students affected by the shooting and who wish to contact a campus counselor are encouraged to call or visit any of the following offices: Counseling and Psychological Services, 134 Willard Hall, (303) 492-6766; Office of Victim Assistance, 217 Willard Hall, (303) 492-8855; Center for Multicultural Affairs, 118 Willard Hall, (303) 492-5667; the Office of Psychological Health and Psychiatry at Wardenburg Health Center, (303) 492-5654; and the Faculty & Staff Assistance Program, 223 Willard Hall, (303) 492-2172.
A tragedy in Blacksburg
From the AP:
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.
Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage—around the time the gunman struck again.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed that the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
"We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," he said.
He defended the university's handling of the tragedy, saying: "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don't have hours to reflect on it."
Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.
The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A student used his cell-phone camera to record the sound of shots echoing through the stone classroom building.
The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.
Two people were killed in a dormitory room, and 31 others were killed in the classroom building, including the gunman, police said.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
Steger emphasized that the university closed off the dorm after the first attack and decided to rely on e-mail and other electronic means to notify members of the university, but with 11,000 people driving onto campus first thing in the morning, it was difficult to get the word out. He said that before the e-mail went out, the university began telephoning resident advisers in the dorms to notify them and sent people to knock on doors to spread the word.
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum would not say how many weapons the gunman carried. But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was incomplete, said that the gunman had two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition.
Flinchum said that some doors in the classroom building had been chained shut from the inside.
Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.
Some students bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time.
"What happened today, this was ridiculous," student Jason Piatt told CNN. "While they send out that e-mail, 20 more people got killed."
Students and Laura Wedin, a student programs manager at Virginia Tech, said the first notification they got of the shootings came in an e- mail at 9:26 a.m., more than two hours after the first shooting.
The e-mail had few details. It read: "A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating." The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.
Student Maurice Hiller said he went to a 9 a.m. class two buildings away from the engineering building, and no warnings were coming over the outdoor public address system on campus at the time.
Everett Good, junior, said of the lack of warning: "I'm trying to figure that out. Someone's head is definitely going to roll over that."
"We were kept in the dark a lot about exactly what was going on," said Andrew Capers Thompson, a 22-year-old graduate student from Walhalla, S.C.
At least 26 people were being treated at three area hospitals for gunshot wounds and other injuries, authorities said. Their exact conditions were not disclosed, but at least one was sent to a trauma center and six were in surgery, authorities said.
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.
Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage—around the time the gunman struck again.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed that the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
"We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," he said.
He defended the university's handling of the tragedy, saying: "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don't have hours to reflect on it."
Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.
The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A student used his cell-phone camera to record the sound of shots echoing through the stone classroom building.
The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.
Two people were killed in a dormitory room, and 31 others were killed in the classroom building, including the gunman, police said.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
Steger emphasized that the university closed off the dorm after the first attack and decided to rely on e-mail and other electronic means to notify members of the university, but with 11,000 people driving onto campus first thing in the morning, it was difficult to get the word out. He said that before the e-mail went out, the university began telephoning resident advisers in the dorms to notify them and sent people to knock on doors to spread the word.
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum would not say how many weapons the gunman carried. But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was incomplete, said that the gunman had two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition.
Flinchum said that some doors in the classroom building had been chained shut from the inside.
Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.
Some students bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time.
"What happened today, this was ridiculous," student Jason Piatt told CNN. "While they send out that e-mail, 20 more people got killed."
Students and Laura Wedin, a student programs manager at Virginia Tech, said the first notification they got of the shootings came in an e- mail at 9:26 a.m., more than two hours after the first shooting.
The e-mail had few details. It read: "A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating." The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.
Student Maurice Hiller said he went to a 9 a.m. class two buildings away from the engineering building, and no warnings were coming over the outdoor public address system on campus at the time.
Everett Good, junior, said of the lack of warning: "I'm trying to figure that out. Someone's head is definitely going to roll over that."
"We were kept in the dark a lot about exactly what was going on," said Andrew Capers Thompson, a 22-year-old graduate student from Walhalla, S.C.
At least 26 people were being treated at three area hospitals for gunshot wounds and other injuries, authorities said. Their exact conditions were not disclosed, but at least one was sent to a trauma center and six were in surgery, authorities said.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Taking umbrage
Kansas State University pays nearly $400,000 a year to its cabal of lawyers, I found out recently from Freedom of Information documents. It gives me umbrage to think K-State's administrators are beholden to their attorneys more than they are accountable to their students.
I have a complaint that K-State isn't being accountable in a case of negligence at one of its residence halls. I have asked for K-State to step up to the plate and assume responsibility by providing a fund for unpaid medical bills or for future treatment. Of course, this plea is falling on deaf ears.
Let's remember the University is not perfect. K-State's attorneys lost a lawsuit in 1993 relating to a lawsuit brought by a woman who was raped by one of K-State's student athletes in a residence hall.
I believe K-State's administrators probably listen too much to their lawyers advice and not enough to their own instincts.
If K-State would set aside just 5% to 10% a year of what they pay their lawyers to set up a fund for students who are injured or harmed on the University's watch in residence halls, perhaps KSU would have less need for lawyers to represent them in civil actions such as Nero v. KSU in 1993.
I have a complaint that K-State isn't being accountable in a case of negligence at one of its residence halls. I have asked for K-State to step up to the plate and assume responsibility by providing a fund for unpaid medical bills or for future treatment. Of course, this plea is falling on deaf ears.
Let's remember the University is not perfect. K-State's attorneys lost a lawsuit in 1993 relating to a lawsuit brought by a woman who was raped by one of K-State's student athletes in a residence hall.
I believe K-State's administrators probably listen too much to their lawyers advice and not enough to their own instincts.
If K-State would set aside just 5% to 10% a year of what they pay their lawyers to set up a fund for students who are injured or harmed on the University's watch in residence halls, perhaps KSU would have less need for lawyers to represent them in civil actions such as Nero v. KSU in 1993.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Invitation extended
This morning I talked with Derek Jackson of KSU and invited him to be a guest author for this blog. I reiterated by my disappointment in K-State's lack of accountability on residence hall security and asked him to consider my original request that K-State cover any unpaid medical bills related to the attack on someone in my family. I also said that my Freedom of Information Act request entailed far more than the University provided relating to the reports from the residence hall security committee.
Relating to the case I am so exorcised about, I asked him if he could provide an account of how the assailant got into Goodnow Hall. He could not because the report wasn't in front of him. I told him that stretches credulity to believe that. And that is all I have to say about that
Relating to the case I am so exorcised about, I asked him if he could provide an account of how the assailant got into Goodnow Hall. He could not because the report wasn't in front of him. I told him that stretches credulity to believe that. And that is all I have to say about that
Monday, April 9, 2007
Moving heaven and earth
I was struck by the words of KSU President Jon Wefald when he talked about his desire to do whatever it would take to keep Bob Huggins at K-State. As it turns out, we have a basketball coach and a recruiting class to be excited about after all.
But how much of that "whatever it takes" attitude is spent on matters that impact the lives of all students? Wefald is deservedly much-beloved, but does his focus on the Goldwaters, Trumans, Huggins and Beasleys cause him to lose sight of the everyday lives of students, including those impacted by campus crime?
But how much of that "whatever it takes" attitude is spent on matters that impact the lives of all students? Wefald is deservedly much-beloved, but does his focus on the Goldwaters, Trumans, Huggins and Beasleys cause him to lose sight of the everyday lives of students, including those impacted by campus crime?
Campus crime needs more light
How disappointing to receive only a two page letter when I requested the complete minutes and reports from the Residence Hall Security Review Committee of last summer. The Aug. 1 letter I was copied on from Derek Jackson to Chuck Werring listed seven bullet points. It was not as complete as the the letter that Heather Reed had sent before, which is published on this blog.
Here were the recommendations from the committee as they were presented to Chuck Werring:
Committee members( Derek Jackson, assistant dean of students, Skyler Harper, assistant director of housing and dining services for facility operations, Officer Dan Stubbings, KSU Police Department, Kipp Van Dyke, residence life coordinator, Ryan Spencer, ARH president, Shana Kaufman, resident assistant, Patrick Simpson, resident assistant.
Here is a quote about the committee from Jackson: "To gain an understanding of the safety and security issues we reviewed the campus crime statistics and FBI Benchmarking survey for the past three years and compared this information with our peer institutions and institutions around the country. Our finding in almost every area showed that K-State was a safer place than our peers based upon the crime report and FBI Benchmarking survey. "
Recommendations:
1. Develop a student security inventory card that will be used to collect serial numbers from high value personal items that often are stolen.
2. Exterior door access: restrict exterior wing door card access to allow only exiting only between the hours of 9 pm and 7 am. We recommend using the panic alarm system that will at the door at at the front desk when someone exists the wing door.
3. Main door access: We recommend that the main doors be locked at 9 pm and unlocked at 7 pm. We recommend that the doors be staffed to check IDS from 9 pm to 4 am Wednesday through Saturday, which we felt were the high traffic times. Between 9 pm and 7 am the card access system would be in place to restrict access from person who did not live in that building.
4. Student room door hardware: We recommend that door locks be placed with auto locks.
5. Guest registration: We recommend that all guests be registered at the front desks.
6. Security cameras: We did not recommend using security cameras as a means of increased security unless in specific areas where deemed necessary.
7. Safety and Security information: Information is available that will assist students and parents in understanding safety and security issues, but we feel student could be given more opportunities to learn about this information. We recommend creative ways to educate student and their parents on these issues.
TK: My reaction is that this two page summary is incomplete. K-State needs to open up all of its documents it used to craft these recommendations. In the spirit of point number seven, I will ask K-State to shed more light on this important issue. While K-State was "safer place than our peers," a member of my family was brutally beaten at Goodnow Hall. K-State has never apologized for its negligence in after hours security nor offered any tangible assistance to cover medical bills.
Here were the recommendations from the committee as they were presented to Chuck Werring:
Committee members( Derek Jackson, assistant dean of students, Skyler Harper, assistant director of housing and dining services for facility operations, Officer Dan Stubbings, KSU Police Department, Kipp Van Dyke, residence life coordinator, Ryan Spencer, ARH president, Shana Kaufman, resident assistant, Patrick Simpson, resident assistant.
Here is a quote about the committee from Jackson: "To gain an understanding of the safety and security issues we reviewed the campus crime statistics and FBI Benchmarking survey for the past three years and compared this information with our peer institutions and institutions around the country. Our finding in almost every area showed that K-State was a safer place than our peers based upon the crime report and FBI Benchmarking survey. "
Recommendations:
1. Develop a student security inventory card that will be used to collect serial numbers from high value personal items that often are stolen.
2. Exterior door access: restrict exterior wing door card access to allow only exiting only between the hours of 9 pm and 7 am. We recommend using the panic alarm system that will at the door at at the front desk when someone exists the wing door.
3. Main door access: We recommend that the main doors be locked at 9 pm and unlocked at 7 pm. We recommend that the doors be staffed to check IDS from 9 pm to 4 am Wednesday through Saturday, which we felt were the high traffic times. Between 9 pm and 7 am the card access system would be in place to restrict access from person who did not live in that building.
4. Student room door hardware: We recommend that door locks be placed with auto locks.
5. Guest registration: We recommend that all guests be registered at the front desks.
6. Security cameras: We did not recommend using security cameras as a means of increased security unless in specific areas where deemed necessary.
7. Safety and Security information: Information is available that will assist students and parents in understanding safety and security issues, but we feel student could be given more opportunities to learn about this information. We recommend creative ways to educate student and their parents on these issues.
TK: My reaction is that this two page summary is incomplete. K-State needs to open up all of its documents it used to craft these recommendations. In the spirit of point number seven, I will ask K-State to shed more light on this important issue. While K-State was "safer place than our peers," a member of my family was brutally beaten at Goodnow Hall. K-State has never apologized for its negligence in after hours security nor offered any tangible assistance to cover medical bills.
Not a ringing endorsement
From KU's Daily Kansan:
While I've givven props to KU's residence hall security system compared to K-State, their own student newspaper describes no safe haven here:
Another McCollum resident, Tariq Musa, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, freshman, said the ninth floor wasn’t as bad as others because women lived in two of the three wings.
“The furniture is upside-down all the time,” Musa said.
Musa said he expected to see that kind of behavior in residence halls because it could be boring otherwise.
Alsahli and Musa said that people have also usFred the elevators to urinate and defecate in.
Jennifer Wamelink, interim associate director for resident life for the Department of Student Housing, said major incidents like these are isolated.
“We don’t have a real repeated problem,” Wamelink said. “But everyone loses when students make the choice to damage property and then don’t come forward.”
She said the protocol for solving issues in the residence halls was to first try to find the culprit. If the guilty party doesn’t come forward, the Department of Student Housing has to absorb the cost of repairing or replacing the damage.
Wamelink said this would raise the department’s cost of maintenance, and thus, the cost of room and board for students.
GSP-Corbin Hall has become a problem area for students tampering with fire safety equipment. Wamelink said many fire extinguishers had been set off without anyone taking responsibility. Wamelink said any tampering of fire safety equipment could involve calling the police, and the department always replaced the equipment.
Eddy Tavio, Olathe freshman and McCollum resident, said damage in his hall was a constant problem, but someone always took care of it.
“Almost every weekend, it is trashed,” Tavio said. “Vomiting, ripping papers, but we don’t have to meet about it. Usually the RA’s take care of it, or the custodial staff.”
Vomiting in trash cans and stairwells is something Janelle Wehr, Olathe freshman, has seen in Ellsworth Hall as well. She said most recently there has been furniture shoved out windows and lost altogether.
Vince Avila, associate director of maintenance and custodial services, said he had dealt with misplaced bodily fluids this semester, and it was an uncomfortable problem for students and maintenance.
“When it’s something out of the ordinary, nobody likes cleaning it up,” Avila said. “You’d think at this age, people wouldn’t do that. It’s pretty ridiculous.”
Avila said every morning there was some type of vandalism in the residence halls that must be cleaned or fixed. He said about three pieces of furniture upholstery in common areas were cut up or destroyed each week.
Some of the furniture is so badly damaged that Avila said he thought students were picking up the furniture and throwing it against the walls.
Musa said the resident advisors tried to keep students from damaging property, or committing other offensive actions, but it seldom worked. He said he wouldn’t be living in the residence halls after this year.
“You have to go to the dorms to try it, but no more.” Musa said. “It sucks.”
While I've givven props to KU's residence hall security system compared to K-State, their own student newspaper describes no safe haven here:
Another McCollum resident, Tariq Musa, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, freshman, said the ninth floor wasn’t as bad as others because women lived in two of the three wings.
“The furniture is upside-down all the time,” Musa said.
Musa said he expected to see that kind of behavior in residence halls because it could be boring otherwise.
Alsahli and Musa said that people have also usFred the elevators to urinate and defecate in.
Jennifer Wamelink, interim associate director for resident life for the Department of Student Housing, said major incidents like these are isolated.
“We don’t have a real repeated problem,” Wamelink said. “But everyone loses when students make the choice to damage property and then don’t come forward.”
She said the protocol for solving issues in the residence halls was to first try to find the culprit. If the guilty party doesn’t come forward, the Department of Student Housing has to absorb the cost of repairing or replacing the damage.
Wamelink said this would raise the department’s cost of maintenance, and thus, the cost of room and board for students.
GSP-Corbin Hall has become a problem area for students tampering with fire safety equipment. Wamelink said many fire extinguishers had been set off without anyone taking responsibility. Wamelink said any tampering of fire safety equipment could involve calling the police, and the department always replaced the equipment.
Eddy Tavio, Olathe freshman and McCollum resident, said damage in his hall was a constant problem, but someone always took care of it.
“Almost every weekend, it is trashed,” Tavio said. “Vomiting, ripping papers, but we don’t have to meet about it. Usually the RA’s take care of it, or the custodial staff.”
Vomiting in trash cans and stairwells is something Janelle Wehr, Olathe freshman, has seen in Ellsworth Hall as well. She said most recently there has been furniture shoved out windows and lost altogether.
Vince Avila, associate director of maintenance and custodial services, said he had dealt with misplaced bodily fluids this semester, and it was an uncomfortable problem for students and maintenance.
“When it’s something out of the ordinary, nobody likes cleaning it up,” Avila said. “You’d think at this age, people wouldn’t do that. It’s pretty ridiculous.”
Avila said every morning there was some type of vandalism in the residence halls that must be cleaned or fixed. He said about three pieces of furniture upholstery in common areas were cut up or destroyed each week.
Some of the furniture is so badly damaged that Avila said he thought students were picking up the furniture and throwing it against the walls.
Musa said the resident advisors tried to keep students from damaging property, or committing other offensive actions, but it seldom worked. He said he wouldn’t be living in the residence halls after this year.
“You have to go to the dorms to try it, but no more.” Musa said. “It sucks.”
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Freedom of information
I asked the University for the meeting minutes and summary reports from K-State's Residence Hall Security Review Committee, which met last year and put forward recommendations that were approved (see beginning posts from this blog).
I haven't heard from KSU if they will provide those reports. I don't know what justification they would use not to release the documents.
I haven't heard from KSU if they will provide those reports. I don't know what justification they would use not to release the documents.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Stranger than fiction
Did you see the story in the news alert on the right side of this blog that KU is talking up their reduced crime statistics over the past few years? There is no mention in the WIBW report about crimes in residence halls or on campus per se. Where is a similar release from K-State?
The K-State police log from over the weekend as 9 pages, mostly incidental stuff. A traffic stop here, a water leak there, security alarm and elevator calls. Not all the entries were routine, though.
This was from March 31, not April Fool's Day.
CUSTODIAL CREW CALLED FROM SEATON HALL SAYING THERE WAS A WILD TURKEY THAT WAS RUNNING AROUND THE BUILDING
This police log entry highlighted below certainly relates to campus security issues, particularly residence hall security. The time is overdue for K-State to implement the new residence hall security plan. Could it have been done at semester instead of 2007-08?
OFFICER #156 GOT OUT ON CAMPUS CREEK ROAD TO CLARIFY ANYTHING THAT WAS HAZY TO MR. XXXX ABOUT HIS PREVIOUS CRIMINAL TRESSPASSING WARNINGS FOR THE DORMS. HE WAS ADVISED AGIAN THAT HE IS STILL BANNED FROM THE DORM AND WILL BE ARRESTED ON SIGHT IF CAUGHT AT THE DORMS OR AT ANY OF THE FOOD COURTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DORMS OFFICER #148 WAS PRESENT URING THE TIME THAT HE WAS REMINDED OF HIS CRIMINAL TRESSPASS WARNING.
The K-State police log from over the weekend as 9 pages, mostly incidental stuff. A traffic stop here, a water leak there, security alarm and elevator calls. Not all the entries were routine, though.
This was from March 31, not April Fool's Day.
CUSTODIAL CREW CALLED FROM SEATON HALL SAYING THERE WAS A WILD TURKEY THAT WAS RUNNING AROUND THE BUILDING
Another incident, recalling the movie Dude, where is your car?
RILEY COUNTY CALLED AND WANTED ON OFFICER TO GO TO xxx MARLATT HALL TO TRY AND MAKE CONTACT W XXXX AND ASK HIM IF HE KNOWS WHERE HIS CAR IS,
WHO WOULD HAVE HIS K-STATE I.D., DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND STEREO.151 MADE CONTACT W/ XXX ROOMATE AND THE ROOMATE TRIED TO MAKE CONTACT WITH XXXX, BUT WAS UNABLE TO. 151 ADVISED THAT THE ROOMATE GAVE HIM A NAME OF WHO XXX MIGHT BE STAYING W/, AND XXX PHONE NUMBER. RCPD MADE CONTACT WITH XXXX AND WAS GOING TO XXX ADDRESS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH XXX. THEY ALSO LOCATED XXX CAR AND THE STEREO WAS MISSING OUT OF IT.
WHO WOULD HAVE HIS K-STATE I.D., DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND STEREO.151 MADE CONTACT W/ XXX ROOMATE AND THE ROOMATE TRIED TO MAKE CONTACT WITH XXXX, BUT WAS UNABLE TO. 151 ADVISED THAT THE ROOMATE GAVE HIM A NAME OF WHO XXX MIGHT BE STAYING W/, AND XXX PHONE NUMBER. RCPD MADE CONTACT WITH XXXX AND WAS GOING TO XXX ADDRESS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH XXX. THEY ALSO LOCATED XXX CAR AND THE STEREO WAS MISSING OUT OF IT.
This police log entry highlighted below certainly relates to campus security issues, particularly residence hall security. The time is overdue for K-State to implement the new residence hall security plan. Could it have been done at semester instead of 2007-08?
OFFICER #156 GOT OUT ON CAMPUS CREEK ROAD TO CLARIFY ANYTHING THAT WAS HAZY TO MR. XXXX ABOUT HIS PREVIOUS CRIMINAL TRESSPASSING WARNINGS FOR THE DORMS. HE WAS ADVISED AGIAN THAT HE IS STILL BANNED FROM THE DORM AND WILL BE ARRESTED ON SIGHT IF CAUGHT AT THE DORMS OR AT ANY OF THE FOOD COURTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DORMS OFFICER #148 WAS PRESENT URING THE TIME THAT HE WAS REMINDED OF HIS CRIMINAL TRESSPASS WARNING.
Apparently not
Troy Lane just sent the complete pdf of the police log. Thanks for the quick response.
Change in policy?
I see that K-State police log daily email today included only a brief summary of a few incidents. I hope that the complete police log continues to be available to interested parties. If not, I wonder what is the reason for the change?
Friday, March 30, 2007
The smell of burnt popcorn
I see in the police log that a Goodnow resident was picked up on an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession. Also in the crime log, from Moore Hall:
MOORE HALL RLC RICK REPORTED THE SMELL OF MARIJUANA IN FRONT OF MOORE HALL. 150 RESPONDED AND DID NOT LOCATE ANY MARIJUANA SMELL IN THE AREA.
From a journal for college administrators I found on the Web:
“Students in the residence halls are burning popcorn and setting off the fire alarms in the campus residence halls to cover the smell of the pot they smoke,” said UC resident assistant, randon Ubanks (the now infamous Ubi from the summer’s role play exercise). “We thought is was a ‘UC problem’ until we went to a statewide student affairs conference and learned that students on other West Virginia campuses were also burning popcorn to cover the smell of narijuana in the residence halls,” said one of UC’s professional residence life staff members.
Residence halls should have no tolerance for marijuana, though the problem is widespread.
The same journal from 2004, said this:
Furthermore, 34 percent of students at the University of Colorado said they used marijuana within the month, compared with 15.7 percent nationwide. At Colorado State University, 25 percent said they used pot during the last month. In addition, the use of other illicit drugs, including heroin, amphetamines and hallucinogens, increased by nearly 21 percent among Colorado College students.
And this:
Approximately 98% of students who use marijuana also binge drink or use other illicit substances. Nationwide figures for marijuana use among college students have increased by over 5-10% from 1993 to 2001. Source: Harvard School of Public Health (researched online, March 2004) A study of college students has shown that skills related to attention, memory,
and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours. Source: Drug Enforcement Agency (researched online, March 2004)
MOORE HALL RLC RICK REPORTED THE SMELL OF MARIJUANA IN FRONT OF MOORE HALL. 150 RESPONDED AND DID NOT LOCATE ANY MARIJUANA SMELL IN THE AREA.
From a journal for college administrators I found on the Web:
“Students in the residence halls are burning popcorn and setting off the fire alarms in the campus residence halls to cover the smell of the pot they smoke,” said UC resident assistant, randon Ubanks (the now infamous Ubi from the summer’s role play exercise). “We thought is was a ‘UC problem’ until we went to a statewide student affairs conference and learned that students on other West Virginia campuses were also burning popcorn to cover the smell of narijuana in the residence halls,” said one of UC’s professional residence life staff members.
Residence halls should have no tolerance for marijuana, though the problem is widespread.
The same journal from 2004, said this:
Furthermore, 34 percent of students at the University of Colorado said they used marijuana within the month, compared with 15.7 percent nationwide. At Colorado State University, 25 percent said they used pot during the last month. In addition, the use of other illicit drugs, including heroin, amphetamines and hallucinogens, increased by nearly 21 percent among Colorado College students.
And this:
Approximately 98% of students who use marijuana also binge drink or use other illicit substances. Nationwide figures for marijuana use among college students have increased by over 5-10% from 1993 to 2001. Source: Harvard School of Public Health (researched online, March 2004) A study of college students has shown that skills related to attention, memory,
and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours. Source: Drug Enforcement Agency (researched online, March 2004)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Fair warning
There appears to be a brewing debate about whether K-State should sign a basketball recruit because of his background. Can K-State afford the liability if this sharpshooter goes astray? Which coed dorm will Tim Weiser put this student athlete?
From a Web search:
Redefining the Contours of University Liability: The Potential Implications of Nero v. Kansas State University, 90 EDUC. L. REP. 989 (1994) (criticizing a Kansas Supreme Court decision, Nero v. Kansas State University, 861 P.2d 768 (Kan. 1993), that found a university liable for failure to protect one student from criminal assault by another student, when the attacker had a criminal juvenile record). Some states, such as California allow for disclosure of certain juvenile records to secondary schools “to protect potentially vulnerable school staff and other students.” Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 827(b)(1).
From a Web search:
Redefining the Contours of University Liability: The Potential Implications of Nero v. Kansas State University, 90 EDUC. L. REP. 989 (1994) (criticizing a Kansas Supreme Court decision, Nero v. Kansas State University, 861 P.2d 768 (Kan. 1993), that found a university liable for failure to protect one student from criminal assault by another student, when the attacker had a criminal juvenile record). Some states, such as California allow for disclosure of certain juvenile records to secondary schools “to protect potentially vulnerable school staff and other students.” Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 827(b)(1).
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Katy prop the door
From today's police log:
SECURITY ALARM ACTIVATED AT ROOM 101 BLUEMONT. OFFICER STATED THE LOWER DOOR
WAS PROPPED OPEN WITH A TRASH CAN. OFFICER SECURED DOOR AND RESET ALARM.
As tempting as it is, propping the door open to any campus building is inviting crime on people or property.
SECURITY ALARM ACTIVATED AT ROOM 101 BLUEMONT. OFFICER STATED THE LOWER DOOR
WAS PROPPED OPEN WITH A TRASH CAN. OFFICER SECURED DOOR AND RESET ALARM.
As tempting as it is, propping the door open to any campus building is inviting crime on people or property.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Liquor law enforcement
Drunk people commit more crimes and drunk people are more often victims of crime. Is K-State doing enough to combat underage drinking at residence halls?
Here is a clip from a story from the University of Maryland that talks about that school's surge in enforcement of minimum age drinking laws.
The rate of liquor law violations served to students on the campus jumped by more than 31 percent in 2005 as part of what police describe as single-year crackdown on underage drinking, police statistics show.The surge in police activity aimed at busting student drinkers made this university the most statistically likely institution in the University System of Maryland for students to get pinched for drinking-related offenses. Frostburg State and Salisbury State, with rates of 28 and 23.5 students per thousand who received liquor law citations respectively, had the next highest proportion. The rate at this university was 38 students per thousand.University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell said the increased enforcement was due in part to belief among police brass that more citations reduce the likelihood of other types of crimes. She also said police had traditionally received grant money to increase enforcement among students."People who are more drunk are more likely to be victims of crime, and people who are more drunk tend to commit more crimes," Atwell said. "If I issue someone a citation for alcohol, they aren't going to want to stay out later."It was unclear, however, why the increase had come in 2005. Atwell said beginning in 1993, state, local and federal grants enabled University Police to dedicate more resources to combating crime, including liquor law violations, but that money dried up in 2004. In 2006, the university provided funding for six more officers, which Atwell expects to have kept the citation rate the same last year as it was in 2005.Police have not published and declined to release statistics for 2006. The 2005 statistics were released as part of an annual review conducted by the University System of Maryland's governing body, the Board of Regents.Experts have said enforcement should be part of - but not the only - measure university officials take in combating crime on the campus.
Here is a clip from a story from the University of Maryland that talks about that school's surge in enforcement of minimum age drinking laws.
The rate of liquor law violations served to students on the campus jumped by more than 31 percent in 2005 as part of what police describe as single-year crackdown on underage drinking, police statistics show.The surge in police activity aimed at busting student drinkers made this university the most statistically likely institution in the University System of Maryland for students to get pinched for drinking-related offenses. Frostburg State and Salisbury State, with rates of 28 and 23.5 students per thousand who received liquor law citations respectively, had the next highest proportion. The rate at this university was 38 students per thousand.University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell said the increased enforcement was due in part to belief among police brass that more citations reduce the likelihood of other types of crimes. She also said police had traditionally received grant money to increase enforcement among students."People who are more drunk are more likely to be victims of crime, and people who are more drunk tend to commit more crimes," Atwell said. "If I issue someone a citation for alcohol, they aren't going to want to stay out later."It was unclear, however, why the increase had come in 2005. Atwell said beginning in 1993, state, local and federal grants enabled University Police to dedicate more resources to combating crime, including liquor law violations, but that money dried up in 2004. In 2006, the university provided funding for six more officers, which Atwell expects to have kept the citation rate the same last year as it was in 2005.Police have not published and declined to release statistics for 2006. The 2005 statistics were released as part of an annual review conducted by the University System of Maryland's governing body, the Board of Regents.Experts have said enforcement should be part of - but not the only - measure university officials take in combating crime on the campus.
Email blast about crime
Here is an interesting story about how one Administration lets its students know about crime on campus through email blasts. From George Washington University:
Following a string of highly publicized violent actions on or around campus, a student was allegedly assaulted in an alley near the State Plaza Hotel at 21st and E streets the Friday before spring break. University Police did notify students and staff about the incident through a blast e-mail. The alleged attack, however, raises serious questions about safety on campus, questions that must be answered by UPD and University officials.
Following a string of highly publicized violent actions on or around campus, a student was allegedly assaulted in an alley near the State Plaza Hotel at 21st and E streets the Friday before spring break. University Police did notify students and staff about the incident through a blast e-mail. The alleged attack, however, raises serious questions about safety on campus, questions that must be answered by UPD and University officials.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Looking for black sheep
This article from The Philadelphia Inquirer states many universities are becoming more selective in their admissions process. Where does K-State stand on this issue?
From the story:
Along with SAT scores and extra-curricular activities, college-bound students increasingly are being asked to divulge information that may not be so flattering: their arrest and discipline records.
Since late summer, the Common Application, a form used by about 300 institutions, has asked students and guidance counselors whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime or disciplined at school.
Kids with rocky pasts may not make it beyond 12th grade.
In an effort to weed out troublemakers before they hit campus, colleges with their own forms also are requiring prospective students to disclose behavioral black marks. More, including Temple, Rowan and Rutgers Universities, are contemplating it.
The University of Pennsylvania put its admissions policy under review after the discovery in January that a 25-year-old child molester taking graduate courses was commuting from his Bucks County prison cell. Saint Joseph's University will ask about applicants' misdeeds beginning next year.
"It's an issue that's exploding," said Timothy Mann, dean of student affairs at Babson College, who is writing his doctoral dissertation on the subject.
The debate over whether to screen and for what is contentious. Opponents cite privacy issues and the risk of penalizing offenders twice. Education encourages rehabilitation, argues the United States Student Association, the nation's largest student group.
"Are we now putting institutions of higher education in the position of dispensing post-judicial punishment?" Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers asked.
Offenders can still slip in. "No background check is foolproof," cautioned Stephanie Hughes, a professor at the University of Northern Kentucky and security expert who owns RiskAware, which runs background checks on college employees.
Federal law prevents most schools from releasing educational records - including disciplinary information - without a parental OK. Counselors can leave the questions blank, a spokesman for the Common Application said. And schools don't always know about the trouble students get into off campus.
Where Mark McGrath, president of the New Jersey School Counselor Association, works, the few kids who have had an incident tend to admit their wrongdoings.
"We try to put it in the best light we can" on the application, said McGrath, a counselor at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, N.J. "We're the advocates for the child."
Access to more accurate information and increased expectations about college involvement in students' lives have spurred the trend toward preadmission screening, Mann said.
Though campus crime has not appreciably increased since 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Education, a few high-profile crimes committed by students with rap sheets have led institutions to reexamine their admissions process. The Common Application added its inquiries at the request of schools concerned about liability, executive director Rob Killion said.
Students are warned not to omit information. If they're caught lying, they're disqualified. Administrators believe most comply.
A single after-school detention or graffiti incident isn't what schools look for, anyway.
"We have 9,000 applications and there are eight counselors," said Matt Middleton, assistant director of admissions at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, where students are asked about suspensions and criminal convictions. (No one has copped to the latter.) "We're lucky if we can get more than five to 10 minutes with an application."
A "history of serious misbehavior" is what Villanova University looks for, said Stephen R. Merritt, dean of enrollment.
Several states have taken stricter measures. A new law criticized by privacy advocates forces Virginia colleges to reveal names and birth dates of incoming students so police can cross-check sex-offender lists. If there's a match, the school and local police are told and the offender has three days to register with authorities after moving to campus.
Virginia State Police Lt. Tom Turner said authorities expect to check 80,000 to 100,000 names annually.
In North Carolina, additional precautions have been implemented since students with rape and larceny convictions committed two unrelated murders at the state university in Wilmington in 2004.
In addition to being asked about their pasts, applicants to the University of North Carolina's 16 campuses are checked against a national database of suspended or expelled college students. Those who trigger suspicion are investigated, Leslie Winner, general counsel for the 200,000-student system, said. As a result, 84 applicants were denied entry last fall.
Schools generally ask for a letter of explanation and consult counselors and others when a problem is reported. Though juvenile records are sealed, colleges can run criminal background checks on those 18 or older.
"There's really no need for a university to take a risk," said Joan McDonald, vice president of enrollment at Drexel University, where no more than 10 applicants a year report misdeeds. Serious offenders aren't invited to join the school's 5,000 or so incoming freshmen.
Each school has its idea of a deal-breaking offense, Hughes, the owner of RiskAware, said. Even with murder, she advises not to jump to conclusions.
"What if they were defending themselves?" Hughes said.
"We look at it on a case-by-case basis," said Mark Lapreziosa, associate vice president of enrollment at Arcadia University, which uses the Common Application and which may revise its own form.
"We look for students showing growth or having learned" from their mistakes, he said.
So far only two students have disclosed arrests, one for drugs and the other theft. They never completed their applications, but options Arcadia considered were requiring them to live off-campus and to keep in close contact with administrators.
"If it was a crime of violence we would have to think seriously," Lapreziosa said.
Pennsylvania State University, which has asked students about their criminal pasts since 1991, received an application in 1999 from a man in his 30s who noted an assault conviction. That confession and information the school received from another source prompted an investigation that revealed more time served for manslaughter and sex crimes.
The man was arrested again - on a gun charge - while the background check was underway.
Even in less dramatic cases, the guidelines are obvious: You can't put the campus at risk, said Joe Puzycki, the school's senior director of judicial affairs. Penn State could not say how many students a year it rejects for security reasons.
Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, worries that risk aversion may lead to overzealous enforcement. If getting arrested once was a consideration 35 years ago, he says, "an awful lot of people would never have gotten into college . . . maybe even presidents."
Last year, Justin Layshock got a 10-day suspension from his Hermitage, N.J., high school for creating an online parody of the principal. When he told Penn State, his application was put on hold, said Walczak, who is representing Layshock in a suit against his old school district.
Layshock let his application lapse after getting into a school where he applied pre-prank. With less luck, he could have lost out entirely, Walczak said.
Connie Clery would rather err on the side of caution. She founded Security on Campus after her 19-year-old daughter, Jeanne, was killed by a fellow student during a robbery at Lehigh University in 1986. The Jeanne Clery Act requires all colleges to disclose crime on and around their campuses.
"You never know who's going to be in the room next to you," said Clery, of Bryn Mawr, who has lobbied for background checks for everyone from faculty to students. "This is a violent culture and it extends onto all college campuses."
Something as benign as theft, the No. 1 campus crime, Clery said, can lead to violence, as it did in her daughter's case.
"If you lose one child, there's nothing in the world that can compensate for that and no way you can get over it if you're a parent," she said. "Why risk it?"
The Common App Rap Sheet
The Common Application, accepted at the following local colleges, requires students to detail all criminal convictions and serious school disciplinary actions.
Arcadia University
Bryn Mawr College
The College of New Jersey
Drexel University
Haverford College
Juniata College
Lafayette College
La Salle University
Lehigh University
University of Pennsylvania
Saint Joseph's University
Swarthmore College
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Source: www.commonapp.org
From the story:
Along with SAT scores and extra-curricular activities, college-bound students increasingly are being asked to divulge information that may not be so flattering: their arrest and discipline records.
Since late summer, the Common Application, a form used by about 300 institutions, has asked students and guidance counselors whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime or disciplined at school.
Kids with rocky pasts may not make it beyond 12th grade.
In an effort to weed out troublemakers before they hit campus, colleges with their own forms also are requiring prospective students to disclose behavioral black marks. More, including Temple, Rowan and Rutgers Universities, are contemplating it.
The University of Pennsylvania put its admissions policy under review after the discovery in January that a 25-year-old child molester taking graduate courses was commuting from his Bucks County prison cell. Saint Joseph's University will ask about applicants' misdeeds beginning next year.
"It's an issue that's exploding," said Timothy Mann, dean of student affairs at Babson College, who is writing his doctoral dissertation on the subject.
The debate over whether to screen and for what is contentious. Opponents cite privacy issues and the risk of penalizing offenders twice. Education encourages rehabilitation, argues the United States Student Association, the nation's largest student group.
"Are we now putting institutions of higher education in the position of dispensing post-judicial punishment?" Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers asked.
Offenders can still slip in. "No background check is foolproof," cautioned Stephanie Hughes, a professor at the University of Northern Kentucky and security expert who owns RiskAware, which runs background checks on college employees.
Federal law prevents most schools from releasing educational records - including disciplinary information - without a parental OK. Counselors can leave the questions blank, a spokesman for the Common Application said. And schools don't always know about the trouble students get into off campus.
Where Mark McGrath, president of the New Jersey School Counselor Association, works, the few kids who have had an incident tend to admit their wrongdoings.
"We try to put it in the best light we can" on the application, said McGrath, a counselor at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, N.J. "We're the advocates for the child."
Access to more accurate information and increased expectations about college involvement in students' lives have spurred the trend toward preadmission screening, Mann said.
Though campus crime has not appreciably increased since 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Education, a few high-profile crimes committed by students with rap sheets have led institutions to reexamine their admissions process. The Common Application added its inquiries at the request of schools concerned about liability, executive director Rob Killion said.
Students are warned not to omit information. If they're caught lying, they're disqualified. Administrators believe most comply.
A single after-school detention or graffiti incident isn't what schools look for, anyway.
"We have 9,000 applications and there are eight counselors," said Matt Middleton, assistant director of admissions at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, where students are asked about suspensions and criminal convictions. (No one has copped to the latter.) "We're lucky if we can get more than five to 10 minutes with an application."
A "history of serious misbehavior" is what Villanova University looks for, said Stephen R. Merritt, dean of enrollment.
Several states have taken stricter measures. A new law criticized by privacy advocates forces Virginia colleges to reveal names and birth dates of incoming students so police can cross-check sex-offender lists. If there's a match, the school and local police are told and the offender has three days to register with authorities after moving to campus.
Virginia State Police Lt. Tom Turner said authorities expect to check 80,000 to 100,000 names annually.
In North Carolina, additional precautions have been implemented since students with rape and larceny convictions committed two unrelated murders at the state university in Wilmington in 2004.
In addition to being asked about their pasts, applicants to the University of North Carolina's 16 campuses are checked against a national database of suspended or expelled college students. Those who trigger suspicion are investigated, Leslie Winner, general counsel for the 200,000-student system, said. As a result, 84 applicants were denied entry last fall.
Schools generally ask for a letter of explanation and consult counselors and others when a problem is reported. Though juvenile records are sealed, colleges can run criminal background checks on those 18 or older.
"There's really no need for a university to take a risk," said Joan McDonald, vice president of enrollment at Drexel University, where no more than 10 applicants a year report misdeeds. Serious offenders aren't invited to join the school's 5,000 or so incoming freshmen.
Each school has its idea of a deal-breaking offense, Hughes, the owner of RiskAware, said. Even with murder, she advises not to jump to conclusions.
"What if they were defending themselves?" Hughes said.
"We look at it on a case-by-case basis," said Mark Lapreziosa, associate vice president of enrollment at Arcadia University, which uses the Common Application and which may revise its own form.
"We look for students showing growth or having learned" from their mistakes, he said.
So far only two students have disclosed arrests, one for drugs and the other theft. They never completed their applications, but options Arcadia considered were requiring them to live off-campus and to keep in close contact with administrators.
"If it was a crime of violence we would have to think seriously," Lapreziosa said.
Pennsylvania State University, which has asked students about their criminal pasts since 1991, received an application in 1999 from a man in his 30s who noted an assault conviction. That confession and information the school received from another source prompted an investigation that revealed more time served for manslaughter and sex crimes.
The man was arrested again - on a gun charge - while the background check was underway.
Even in less dramatic cases, the guidelines are obvious: You can't put the campus at risk, said Joe Puzycki, the school's senior director of judicial affairs. Penn State could not say how many students a year it rejects for security reasons.
Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, worries that risk aversion may lead to overzealous enforcement. If getting arrested once was a consideration 35 years ago, he says, "an awful lot of people would never have gotten into college . . . maybe even presidents."
Last year, Justin Layshock got a 10-day suspension from his Hermitage, N.J., high school for creating an online parody of the principal. When he told Penn State, his application was put on hold, said Walczak, who is representing Layshock in a suit against his old school district.
Layshock let his application lapse after getting into a school where he applied pre-prank. With less luck, he could have lost out entirely, Walczak said.
Connie Clery would rather err on the side of caution. She founded Security on Campus after her 19-year-old daughter, Jeanne, was killed by a fellow student during a robbery at Lehigh University in 1986. The Jeanne Clery Act requires all colleges to disclose crime on and around their campuses.
"You never know who's going to be in the room next to you," said Clery, of Bryn Mawr, who has lobbied for background checks for everyone from faculty to students. "This is a violent culture and it extends onto all college campuses."
Something as benign as theft, the No. 1 campus crime, Clery said, can lead to violence, as it did in her daughter's case.
"If you lose one child, there's nothing in the world that can compensate for that and no way you can get over it if you're a parent," she said. "Why risk it?"
The Common App Rap Sheet
The Common Application, accepted at the following local colleges, requires students to detail all criminal convictions and serious school disciplinary actions.
Arcadia University
Bryn Mawr College
The College of New Jersey
Drexel University
Haverford College
Juniata College
Lafayette College
La Salle University
Lehigh University
University of Pennsylvania
Saint Joseph's University
Swarthmore College
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Source: www.commonapp.org
Big apple or little?
March 23-26 police log
One residence hall reference over the weekend:
GOODNOW/DORM LOTS
report by goodnow staff of a subject pan-handling. Subject left area prior to officer arrival.
One residence hall reference over the weekend:
GOODNOW/DORM LOTS
report by goodnow staff of a subject pan-handling. Subject left area prior to officer arrival.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Police log March 16-19
Residence Hall reports
Boyd:
RP REPORTED IPOD STOLEN FROM HER DORM ROOM.
BURGLARY/THEFT REPORT FILED
Moore:
SUBJECT CALLED FROM MOORE HALL TO REPORT THAT DURING ROOM CHECKS THEY FOUND A SPEED LIMIT SIGN. THEY ASKED THAT A OFFICER COME GET IT. OFFICER CONFENSCATED THE SIGN
Boyd:
RP REPORTED IPOD STOLEN FROM HER DORM ROOM.
BURGLARY/THEFT REPORT FILED
Moore:
SUBJECT CALLED FROM MOORE HALL TO REPORT THAT DURING ROOM CHECKS THEY FOUND A SPEED LIMIT SIGN. THEY ASKED THAT A OFFICER COME GET IT. OFFICER CONFENSCATED THE SIGN
Sunday, March 18, 2007
It has been a while
But I'm back. Last time you didn't read me (this site has darned few visitors) I was expressing my disappointment in K-State's accountability to its students (particularly one) relating to a middle of the night attack in Goodnow Hall. I asked the University to cover unpaid education and medical bills. K-State declined, failing to see my argument that they were liable in this case by letting the assailant into the residence hall.
I've been researching a previous case relating to residence hall security, from 1993: Nero vs. Kansas State University.
This is from a recent paper from the University of Georgia on institutional liability relating to sexual crimes by student athletes.
From Institutional Liability for the Sexual Crimes of Student-Athletes:
A Review of Case Law and Policy Recommendations
Joy Blanchard
Courts also have held universities liable for a duty of care assumed through the campus housing contract vis à vis landlord-tenant relationship.73 In Mullins v. Pine Manor College74, a court rejected an institution’s in loco parentis immunity claims and held that the institution was negligent in failing to provide security when a resident was abducted by an intruder. Further, in Nero v. Kansas State University,75 a court found the University liable for a student’s assault because administrators failed for to notify her of the foreseeable danger created when an accused rapist was assigned to her coed residence hall.76
While it can said that universities have given more responsibility to students over the years, the university can't be negligent about its core duty for security at residence halls. Unfortunately, it has proven negligent in the past. I believe it is negligent now, 14 years later.
I've been researching a previous case relating to residence hall security, from 1993: Nero vs. Kansas State University.
This is from a recent paper from the University of Georgia on institutional liability relating to sexual crimes by student athletes.
From Institutional Liability for the Sexual Crimes of Student-Athletes:
A Review of Case Law and Policy Recommendations
Joy Blanchard
Courts also have held universities liable for a duty of care assumed through the campus housing contract vis à vis landlord-tenant relationship.73 In Mullins v. Pine Manor College74, a court rejected an institution’s in loco parentis immunity claims and held that the institution was negligent in failing to provide security when a resident was abducted by an intruder. Further, in Nero v. Kansas State University,75 a court found the University liable for a student’s assault because administrators failed for to notify her of the foreseeable danger created when an accused rapist was assigned to her coed residence hall.76
While it can said that universities have given more responsibility to students over the years, the university can't be negligent about its core duty for security at residence halls. Unfortunately, it has proven negligent in the past. I believe it is negligent now, 14 years later.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Thief
From the March 5 police log:
21:07 21:09 21:34 BURGLARY P D07002007 P07000165 115
MOORE HALL
RESIDENT ADVISOR CALLED REQUESTING AN OFFICER COME SPEAK WITH A STUDENT REGARDING THE THEFT OF $300. BURGLARY/THEFT REPORT FILED.
Again, could this have been prevented with more secure after hours access?
21:07 21:09 21:34 BURGLARY P D07002007 P07000165 115
MOORE HALL
RESIDENT ADVISOR CALLED REQUESTING AN OFFICER COME SPEAK WITH A STUDENT REGARDING THE THEFT OF $300. BURGLARY/THEFT REPORT FILED.
Again, could this have been prevented with more secure after hours access?
Monday, March 5, 2007
Dead Week - # 1 Issue
I see the Collegian poll rates "instituting a true dead week" as the number one campus concern, with 23% of students most concerned about that issue in the KSU student body president race.
Residence hall security not even listed - yet.
Residence hall security not even listed - yet.
What was considered
Last summer K-State's Security Review Committee looked at the following processes and compared them with 12 peer institutions.
1. Kansas State University Annual Security Report (Cleary Report) Campus security statistics both K-State's and their peers the last three years.
2. Educational benchmarking student safety satisfaction survey. This survey gathers feedback from our residence hall students and then benchmarks K-State against the other 256 institutions that administer the same survey
3. Hall access - both hardware and staffing practices
4. Student room door access
5. In room security measures
6. Small item thefts - computers, Ipods, cameras, etc., registration by campus police, similar to bike registration
6. Security cameras
7. Educational programs and material for students and their families
8. Outside lighting
Here are the recommendations that were approved last summer by the security committee.
From what I can tell, the security committee did not recommend security cameras for the residence halls. They have changed hall access significantly.
Here is one school that decided to install security cameras at their dorm entrances and their reasons for doing so. In fact, type in security cameras and residence halls in a Google search and you will see how widely they are employed. K-State should take this opportunity - significant change to its security systems - to install security cameras at the entrances and main lobby of the dorms. This is not only for the safety of the residents by also the community assistants that work the desk and who will be asked to regulate hall access.
1. Kansas State University Annual Security Report (Cleary Report) Campus security statistics both K-State's and their peers the last three years.
2. Educational benchmarking student safety satisfaction survey. This survey gathers feedback from our residence hall students and then benchmarks K-State against the other 256 institutions that administer the same survey
3. Hall access - both hardware and staffing practices
4. Student room door access
5. In room security measures
6. Small item thefts - computers, Ipods, cameras, etc., registration by campus police, similar to bike registration
6. Security cameras
7. Educational programs and material for students and their families
8. Outside lighting
Here are the recommendations that were approved last summer by the security committee.
From what I can tell, the security committee did not recommend security cameras for the residence halls. They have changed hall access significantly.
Here is one school that decided to install security cameras at their dorm entrances and their reasons for doing so. In fact, type in security cameras and residence halls in a Google search and you will see how widely they are employed. K-State should take this opportunity - significant change to its security systems - to install security cameras at the entrances and main lobby of the dorms. This is not only for the safety of the residents by also the community assistants that work the desk and who will be asked to regulate hall access.
RA, PhD?
Here is a story about the latest trend of faculty living with students at some dorms.
From the AP story:
When John Richardson wanted to avoid a lengthy commute to American University's campus, renting a nearby apartment just wouldn't do.
Instead, the easygoing 68-year-old professor decided to settle into a sprawling dormitory teeming with hundreds of students. It's not as unusual as it sounds: These days, catching sight of your professor on the way to the shower happens all the time.
Educators say a growing number of faculty are moving into dorms as colleges seek to revitalize campus life and shift away from the utilitarian, high-rise halls that sprouted when enrollment soared in the 1960s.
"There's been a separation between the culture of academic life and the culture of campus life," said Richardson, who suggested moving into a dorm after students complained that interaction with faculty was lacking outside the classroom.
There wasn't much structure to Richardson's living arrangement when he first moved into his one-bedroom suite in Anderson Hall about four years ago, said Gail Hanson, the university's vice president of campus life. The plan was to have him take it all in and see what happened.
Today, Richardson can be found handing out candy from a giant plastic bowl with a blinking red light attached as he greets bleary-eyed students during dozens of middle-of-the-night fire alarms. The well-traveled culinary enthusiast also prepares a buffet-style dinner for students a couple of nights each month, serving up Peking duck, Sri Lankan curry and Moroccan lamb.
"It kind of feels like you have a grandfather or an uncle living with you," said Aimee Malin, 20, a senior.
From the AP story:
When John Richardson wanted to avoid a lengthy commute to American University's campus, renting a nearby apartment just wouldn't do.
Instead, the easygoing 68-year-old professor decided to settle into a sprawling dormitory teeming with hundreds of students. It's not as unusual as it sounds: These days, catching sight of your professor on the way to the shower happens all the time.
Educators say a growing number of faculty are moving into dorms as colleges seek to revitalize campus life and shift away from the utilitarian, high-rise halls that sprouted when enrollment soared in the 1960s.
"There's been a separation between the culture of academic life and the culture of campus life," said Richardson, who suggested moving into a dorm after students complained that interaction with faculty was lacking outside the classroom.
There wasn't much structure to Richardson's living arrangement when he first moved into his one-bedroom suite in Anderson Hall about four years ago, said Gail Hanson, the university's vice president of campus life. The plan was to have him take it all in and see what happened.
Today, Richardson can be found handing out candy from a giant plastic bowl with a blinking red light attached as he greets bleary-eyed students during dozens of middle-of-the-night fire alarms. The well-traveled culinary enthusiast also prepares a buffet-style dinner for students a couple of nights each month, serving up Peking duck, Sri Lankan curry and Moroccan lamb.
"It kind of feels like you have a grandfather or an uncle living with you," said Aimee Malin, 20, a senior.
3:45 A.M.
From the police log on March 4:
RECIEVED A CALL FROM MOORE HALL. RP STATED THAT THERE WERE A BUNCH OF DRUNK GUYS ON THE 7TH FLOOR ACTING CRAZY. SENT OFFICERS OUT, BUT EVERYONE HAD LEFT THE AREA.
A good argument for both better after hours residence hall security and sobriety.
RECIEVED A CALL FROM MOORE HALL. RP STATED THAT THERE WERE A BUNCH OF DRUNK GUYS ON THE 7TH FLOOR ACTING CRAZY. SENT OFFICERS OUT, BUT EVERYONE HAD LEFT THE AREA.
A good argument for both better after hours residence hall security and sobriety.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Huggie Bear
Whenever I think that I haven't been quite as generous as I should be when it comes to K-State's performance relating to campus security or customer service(described in earlier posts), I think of Bob Huggins and his tough love for K-State students.
After the game today, Huggie Bear said that he appreciated all 37 students that came to every game - and to remember to bring back 2,000 of their closest friends next year. I love Huggins as much as the next guy, but come on, lay off the students for once. But I give him a partial pass because what he said was true; only 37 students did go to every game!
If the well-rewarded Huggins can be hard on K-State students for failing to show up during Christmas break against Cleveland State, I will show tough love toward K-State for failing to implement needed security changes at residence halls, and then falling down in accountability, leadership and customer service.
After the game today, Huggie Bear said that he appreciated all 37 students that came to every game - and to remember to bring back 2,000 of their closest friends next year. I love Huggins as much as the next guy, but come on, lay off the students for once. But I give him a partial pass because what he said was true; only 37 students did go to every game!
If the well-rewarded Huggins can be hard on K-State students for failing to show up during Christmas break against Cleveland State, I will show tough love toward K-State for failing to implement needed security changes at residence halls, and then falling down in accountability, leadership and customer service.
A suggestion
One thing the Collegian could do as a service to students is to publish K-State's daily police/crime log. I've noted that other student newspapers have done this, such as this example. I'm sure it would be well-read.
Sordid tales of campus crime
That's the name of this student written piece from the University of Colorado at Denver, but it could have been anywhere. It reflects the truth that no matter how feel-good the KSU experience is, there are thieves among us. And who hasn't felt the premonition of dread when racing off to the bathroom and leaving a laptop unattended?
Here is an excerpt:
Took my eye off of it for a second
Between 12:00 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., on Wednesday Feb. 14, a Metro student had his possessions stolen. On the first floor of the Library, near the circulation section, a student had his LG Chocolate Verizon phone and his TI-83 graphing calculator stolen. The total estimated value of his possessions is $450.It looks like there are thieves amongst us, waiting for the moment we're not paying attention to rob us blind. Be careful of what you are leaving in the open, if you have expensive gadgets or items, try not to leave them out in the open. Try to find carry bags or other means of storing your expensive or important things, so you can take them with you, and not have to set them down.
I thought the bookstore robbed us
On Feb. 14, between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., a silver Motorola Razr phone was stolen from the Auraria Campus Bookstore. An employee of the bookstore reported his cell phone stolen. He had left it in an office, but the door was not locked and the public may have had access to office. Important things to remember: if you have an expensive, important device, please write down its important information, like serial number, make and model. As much as I feel like the bookstore robs me every semester, I know it's not the employee's fault and don't wish them ill will...or stolen cell phones.
New fashion on campus: Depends
On Feb. 12, a student was robbed in South Classroom 126. She reported a Jansport backpack, textbooks and a scandisk flashdrive stolen. The total estimated value of the items lost is $195. She left her things in the classroom while she went to use the restroom. Upon returning, her things were gone. I believe that what she did was a common occurrence on campus, I have seen many people leave their things inside the classroom before using the restroom. We all know, especially this time of year when it's cold outside, how difficult it is to use the restroom all bundled up and loaded with school gear. Looks like we need to institute the buddy system, no one goes to the restroom without their buddy watching their things.
Here is an excerpt:
Took my eye off of it for a second
Between 12:00 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., on Wednesday Feb. 14, a Metro student had his possessions stolen. On the first floor of the Library, near the circulation section, a student had his LG Chocolate Verizon phone and his TI-83 graphing calculator stolen. The total estimated value of his possessions is $450.It looks like there are thieves amongst us, waiting for the moment we're not paying attention to rob us blind. Be careful of what you are leaving in the open, if you have expensive gadgets or items, try not to leave them out in the open. Try to find carry bags or other means of storing your expensive or important things, so you can take them with you, and not have to set them down.
I thought the bookstore robbed us
On Feb. 14, between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., a silver Motorola Razr phone was stolen from the Auraria Campus Bookstore. An employee of the bookstore reported his cell phone stolen. He had left it in an office, but the door was not locked and the public may have had access to office. Important things to remember: if you have an expensive, important device, please write down its important information, like serial number, make and model. As much as I feel like the bookstore robs me every semester, I know it's not the employee's fault and don't wish them ill will...or stolen cell phones.
New fashion on campus: Depends
On Feb. 12, a student was robbed in South Classroom 126. She reported a Jansport backpack, textbooks and a scandisk flashdrive stolen. The total estimated value of the items lost is $195. She left her things in the classroom while she went to use the restroom. Upon returning, her things were gone. I believe that what she did was a common occurrence on campus, I have seen many people leave their things inside the classroom before using the restroom. We all know, especially this time of year when it's cold outside, how difficult it is to use the restroom all bundled up and loaded with school gear. Looks like we need to institute the buddy system, no one goes to the restroom without their buddy watching their things.
Monday, February 26, 2007
We the people
Actually, you the people. K-State's student body presidential candidates vary from the irrelevant ---"We at Hilburn-Feeley don't really care what students have to say and we don't want to know about anything that students like," Hilburn said -- to the mundane ---Wagner said deferred maintenance is a problem that needs to be resolved quickly.
Someone in my humble lot should not criticize budding public servants. After all, it was my era at K-State when "Brownbackers" elected Sam to student body president. Who know, maybe one of KSU's group will aim just as high.
Are there no other issues besides online textbooks, parking and deferred maintenance? What about the new security policy at residence halls? Yea or nay? Of course, taking a position on a policy that hasn't been announced yet is tricky...
Someone in my humble lot should not criticize budding public servants. After all, it was my era at K-State when "Brownbackers" elected Sam to student body president. Who know, maybe one of KSU's group will aim just as high.
Are there no other issues besides online textbooks, parking and deferred maintenance? What about the new security policy at residence halls? Yea or nay? Of course, taking a position on a policy that hasn't been announced yet is tricky...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Top....Men
When I was first asking for a review of residence hall security measures at K-State, I was assured they are continually evaluated and updated. I had asked why video cameras are not employed at the doors to the residence hall. No need to worry, I was assured.
It went something like this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Indy: "The situation is totally unacceptable."
Intelligence: "Well gentlemen, I guess that just about wraps it up."
Brody: "Where is the Ark?"
Intelligence: "I thought we settled this. The Ark is somewhere very safe."
Indy: "From who?"
Brody: "The Ark is a source of unspeakable power and it has to be researched."
Intelligence: "And it will be. I assure you Dr. Brody, Dr. Jones. We have top men working on it right now."
Indy: "Who?"
Intelligence: "Top... Men..."
Scene shifts to ark being lost in the middle of a warehouse...
Anyway, when I went online and compared KU and K-State security measures, I found K-State's residence hall security was quite a bit more lax and prone to breaching than KU. I pointed this out to the Administration. I give credit to K-State that they listened.
I like this quote from C.S. Lewis.
"Who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists to say whether our teeth were aching, only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and only governments to tell us whether we were being well governed?"
Or Anderson Hall to tell students they are well protected.
It went something like this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Indy: "The situation is totally unacceptable."
Intelligence: "Well gentlemen, I guess that just about wraps it up."
Brody: "Where is the Ark?"
Intelligence: "I thought we settled this. The Ark is somewhere very safe."
Indy: "From who?"
Brody: "The Ark is a source of unspeakable power and it has to be researched."
Intelligence: "And it will be. I assure you Dr. Brody, Dr. Jones. We have top men working on it right now."
Indy: "Who?"
Intelligence: "Top... Men..."
Scene shifts to ark being lost in the middle of a warehouse...
Anyway, when I went online and compared KU and K-State security measures, I found K-State's residence hall security was quite a bit more lax and prone to breaching than KU. I pointed this out to the Administration. I give credit to K-State that they listened.
I like this quote from C.S. Lewis.
"Who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists to say whether our teeth were aching, only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and only governments to tell us whether we were being well governed?"
Or Anderson Hall to tell students they are well protected.
Monday, February 19, 2007
I drink the Kool-Aid
Don't think I don't. I grew up listening to Fred White call games on 580 WIBW. I cut my eye teeth cheering for Mack Herron and Lynn Dickey. Lonnie Kruger was a friend of my mine.
My father is on K-State's Viet Nam memorial wall and I'm a graduate myself.
And I'll be cheering for the Cats tonight against the Hawks.
So it makes it tough when the University you believe in doesn't accommodate you in the most basic of ways. I'll put that aside today.
Go Cats!
My father is on K-State's Viet Nam memorial wall and I'm a graduate myself.
And I'll be cheering for the Cats tonight against the Hawks.
So it makes it tough when the University you believe in doesn't accommodate you in the most basic of ways. I'll put that aside today.
Go Cats!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Customer satisfaction
We were at a high school parent teacher session and the teacher asked if our daughter had decided what to major in. No, we replied. He got online and showed K-State's Web site that shows all the possible fields of studies, all the possible majors, etc.
He said, "Back when I was in school I was only paying $300 a semester for tuition so they didn't care about us, but now you guys are paying much more so they offer a lot more guidance."
Or something to that effect.
I didn't take issue with him there, but I thought to myself. Does K-State understand the need for customer satisfaction? Or are they still stuck in the 1970s?
I have often heard it said that you get much better service at restaurants in Manhattan than you would in Kansas City. I agree. In a competitive college town job market, customer service is pretty darn good.
But does the K-State the institution get it like the Holiday Inn or the Honda dealer gets it? I have my doubts. You tell me.. if you are not big time athlete or classroom champion, do you matter to K-state?
After spending month upon month following up with K-State about security issues following middle of the night attack on someone in my family at a residence hall, I have not met with anyone at all from the University. I should say I haven't sought a meeting out, either. I did ask to sit in on a security committee meeting last summer but was not welcome.
Still, I find it curious that there is not a more aggressive effort to seek out and find a common ground with a dissatisfied, if difficult customer.
He said, "Back when I was in school I was only paying $300 a semester for tuition so they didn't care about us, but now you guys are paying much more so they offer a lot more guidance."
Or something to that effect.
I didn't take issue with him there, but I thought to myself. Does K-State understand the need for customer satisfaction? Or are they still stuck in the 1970s?
I have often heard it said that you get much better service at restaurants in Manhattan than you would in Kansas City. I agree. In a competitive college town job market, customer service is pretty darn good.
But does the K-State the institution get it like the Holiday Inn or the Honda dealer gets it? I have my doubts. You tell me.. if you are not big time athlete or classroom champion, do you matter to K-state?
After spending month upon month following up with K-State about security issues following middle of the night attack on someone in my family at a residence hall, I have not met with anyone at all from the University. I should say I haven't sought a meeting out, either. I did ask to sit in on a security committee meeting last summer but was not welcome.
Still, I find it curious that there is not a more aggressive effort to seek out and find a common ground with a dissatisfied, if difficult customer.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Read this
Read this from a student newspaper in Wisconsin.
Here is a short excerpt from a recounting of an robbery at a Wisconsin dorm:
Every student who has ever lived in a dorm knows what happened: Someone let in the wrong person. He followed someone up the elevator and found an open room
KC: This is what happened to me(not me, but "me" for the purposes of this narrative). I was attacked in my room in the middle of the night. I had to go to the hospital and get a ct-scan with hospital bills totaling over $4,000. I suffered hearing and vision loss and a concussion. I felt like I could have been killed had not a neighbor come to my aid. How did the intruder get in to the residence hall? From what I was told, the attendant at the front desk instructed a group of guys to open the door to the dorm when my soon to be attacker was pounding on the door to get in just minutes before.
How should "KC" or her/his family feel when K-State declines to assist in covering any unpaid medical bills not covered by insurance? How many thousands of dollars does K-State pay their lawyers each year to tell them not to extend a helping hand to a student attacked in one of their dorms?
Here is a short excerpt from a recounting of an robbery at a Wisconsin dorm:
Every student who has ever lived in a dorm knows what happened: Someone let in the wrong person. He followed someone up the elevator and found an open room
KC: This is what happened to me(not me, but "me" for the purposes of this narrative). I was attacked in my room in the middle of the night. I had to go to the hospital and get a ct-scan with hospital bills totaling over $4,000. I suffered hearing and vision loss and a concussion. I felt like I could have been killed had not a neighbor come to my aid. How did the intruder get in to the residence hall? From what I was told, the attendant at the front desk instructed a group of guys to open the door to the dorm when my soon to be attacker was pounding on the door to get in just minutes before.
How should "KC" or her/his family feel when K-State declines to assist in covering any unpaid medical bills not covered by insurance? How many thousands of dollars does K-State pay their lawyers each year to tell them not to extend a helping hand to a student attacked in one of their dorms?
Accountability
You will note yesterday that I commended K-State for its review of its security policy last summer. That is not to say that I'm overjoyed with all aspects of the Administration.
I would suggest that students' accountability to K-State is greater than the Administration's accountability toward students. Anderson Hall can put a lightning quick stranglehold on enrollment, graduation and even life itself by virtue of an unpaid parking fine.
But if you ask K-State for reasonable and justified assistance(and you will see what I mean), my experience is disappointing.
I've got to go for now..more later
I would suggest that students' accountability to K-State is greater than the Administration's accountability toward students. Anderson Hall can put a lightning quick stranglehold on enrollment, graduation and even life itself by virtue of an unpaid parking fine.
But if you ask K-State for reasonable and justified assistance(and you will see what I mean), my experience is disappointing.
I've got to go for now..more later
Monday, February 12, 2007
The new policy
Here is a link to the letter describing KSU's new security policy. You might note that I photo shopped the recipient from the letter for privacy reasons.
I asked K-State for a review of their residence hall security. I commend them for their work and I hope that the new security policy will prevent the type of incident that caused me to ask for it in the first place.
I asked K-State for a review of their residence hall security. I commend them for their work and I hope that the new security policy will prevent the type of incident that caused me to ask for it in the first place.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Time for a new plan
While K-State has talked about how much they are raising the cost of student housing for 2007-08, they haven't talked much that I can tell about the need for and the plan for a new security policy at the residence halls. Perhaps they thought it easier to just ease into next year and not worry about explaining why things need to change.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A day in the life
More like Mayberry RFD than Hill Street Blues, a day in the life of the campus police is typically filled with hissing radiators, stuck elevators, locked doors, false alarms and so on.
Security on campus.org
You will find the link to a Web site here, called Security on Campus. The Web site tells the story of Jeanne Ann Clery.
This is from the site:
The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19 year old Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Ann Clery (pictured right) who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986.
Jeanne's parents, Connie and Howard, discovered that students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990."
The law was amended in 1992 to add a requirement that schools afford the victims of campus sexual assault certain basic rights, and was amended again in 1998 to expand the reporting requirements. The 1998 amendments also formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery.
The law was most recently amended in 2000 to require schools beginning in 2003 to notify the campus community about where public "Megan's Law" information about registered sex offenders on campus could be obtained.
There are also links on the page to campus crime states in Kansas and other states.
This is from the site:
The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19 year old Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Ann Clery (pictured right) who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986.
Jeanne's parents, Connie and Howard, discovered that students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990."
The law was amended in 1992 to add a requirement that schools afford the victims of campus sexual assault certain basic rights, and was amended again in 1998 to expand the reporting requirements. The 1998 amendments also formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery.
The law was most recently amended in 2000 to require schools beginning in 2003 to notify the campus community about where public "Megan's Law" information about registered sex offenders on campus could be obtained.
There are also links on the page to campus crime states in Kansas and other states.
Changes are coming
And it's about time
Compare the links to the right that show the difference between KU and K-State residence hall security measures.
You will see they differ by quite a bit. I come to this blog with a quest to make sure changes to K-State's system do occur.
What's the worst thing that you have ever seen or heard about happening in the residence halls? What should be done, if anything, to change the status quo?
For victims, how has the "system" treated you after the fact?
Compare the links to the right that show the difference between KU and K-State residence hall security measures.
You will see they differ by quite a bit. I come to this blog with a quest to make sure changes to K-State's system do occur.
What's the worst thing that you have ever seen or heard about happening in the residence halls? What should be done, if anything, to change the status quo?
For victims, how has the "system" treated you after the fact?
K-
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