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?
Monday, April 9, 2007
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?
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