Haq 1

Ammar Haq
Writing 2010
March 21, 2016
Jessie Richards
Synthesis 2: Hazardous Campuses
The topic our group decided to research related to institutions of higher education was
campus security. Specifically violent encounters and drug use on and around campus. Also what
campus security personal are doing to help in such situations. When researching, my goal was to
get a very diverse amount of information to broaden my own knowledge and have different
understanding of what sexual assault is and how it happens, drug abuse, and school shootings on
campus. Crimes happen on campus on a regular basis and campus security is there to monitor
and prevent such instances.
Sexual Assault and Harassment on Campus
One common relation I found among all my sources was that they all included facts and
statistics at the beginning of most articles. Once they identified the issues, they then went on to
show solutions to issues of sexual assaults and drug problems that occur. For example Kirsten
Lombardi in her article Sexual Assault on Campus High Rates of Rape, Closed Hearings, and
Confusing Laws interviewed a student who had an ongoing case with her university where at
the end of the case the board of regents asked her to stay quiet about the hearing because they
were not going to do anything to keep names clean and everything off the record. She had
already gone to through legal cases and she had lost those as well. Her attacker was let free in all

Haq 2

situations. Often times some cases involving accusations of sexual assault are ignored on the
basis of keeping the perception of a clean environment.
Articles had varying traits like the one depicted above that did not sugar coat the harsh
realities. As one published by Time University Survey Highlights Role of Verbal Coercion in
Sexual Assault brought harsh real life statistics of what happens to women and the
circumstances in which it happens to them.
Many articles correlate with each other. How drug use or drugs ingested without
knowledge called date rape drugs led to rape and other sexual horrors and how sometimes going
through sexual assaults led to using drugs because of the psychological damage following the
physical harm.
The first subject to discuss is what campus security is doing for potential victims. Many
campuses have hotlines for almost whatever you made need within reason across American
college campuses. For example if you feel unsafe at a certain spot on campus you can make a
phone call and security personal will meet you at your location and escort you to wherever your
destination is on campus. These programs are mostly used during finals week when students are
in places where they do not plan on being at times that are not natural any other time of the
semester.
Campus security is also there to enforce all the rules set in by the board of regents of each
school. Certain colleges are known as dry campuses due to the fact alcohol is not permitted on
theses campuses. Campus security are not just some trained security personal. The University of
Utah has trained police personal. The University of Utah has a daily crime log available for
public viewing on their website.

Haq 3

One growing unfortunate trend over the years has been the increase in sexual assaults and
harassment over the years. Even with the growing awareness it has only been more publicized.
Acts of sexual assault can range anywhere from to inappropriate touching to rape. Sexual
Harassment is known more on the scale of stalking, cat calling, and inappropriate messaging
over social media and direct texting. With different dating platforms being released at a pace that
is complicated to stay on track with the possibilities of both sexual assaults and sexual
harassment has been escalated to a very dangerous degree.
Instead of subsiding over the years sexual assault and harassment has only progressed to
new heights. In the article Engaging Men as Social Justice Allies in Ending Violence against
Women: Evidence for a Social Norms Approach the authors suggest to focus on the criminals
who are actually committing the crimes, also known as men in this particular case majority of the
time. Authors Fabiano, Berkowitz, Linkenbach, and Stark want mens perception of women that
they are only objects for sexual desires through various intervention programs. The authors plan
on using media outlets to influence such a movement. Their main points are the understanding of
actual consent and willingness to intervene in preventing sexual assault. They strongly feel that
men are and should be protectors of women instead of being the ones committing crimes against
them.
Faculty and staff members on campus have also been known to have been victims of
harassment against them. Over a hundred and fifty women were surveyed at a university in
Central Ontario, Canada and a good majority reported they were victims of certain sexual crimes.
The survey was conducted by the article Preliminary Examination of Safety Issues on a
University Campus: Personal Safety Practices, Beliefs & Attitudes of Female Faculty & Staff.

Haq 4

This article conducted by Paula Fletcher and Brayden Pamela proves the fact that not only
students are victims of sexual assault on campuses.
One in every four women within their first two years of college will be victims of sexual
assault and an astonishing 95.2% will never be reported to anyone. Due to these harsh statistics
two organizations have been developed to reduce these acts PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim
Empowerment) and SOC (Security On Campus Inc.) They have joined together creating Safe
Campus, Strong Voices that while still bringing awareness empowers bystanders and students to
speak up when they witness things out of the norm. Their mission is to bring justice to the issue.
(Womens Health Law Weekly (2011))
Often times sexual assaults are ignored by administration where the victim is told to say
be quiet about it while the perpetrator is let off. This presents the opportunity for the perpetrator
to commit similar crimes in the future. One publicized occurrence of this was took place at the
University of Virginia. Kathryn Russell who was a victim at the time sat in a closet like room
while two students and two professors decided what was to happen with her rape. Shamim
Sission the board chair came into the room and uttered the words you cant talk about the
verdict to anyone, he also went on to say If you talk of the verdict, youll face disciplinary
charges. Her report to the authorities was already declined to follow on the prosecution of the
rape. Kathryn Russells last ditch effort was to approach the board and she got nearly the same
response. At the time she followed instructions, but five years after she returned to expose the
secrecy these informal hearings hold within themselves. (Eliza Gray 2009)
Many sexual assaults that occur have been reported to have been committed by someone
already close to the victim, usually a so called friend or someone the victim heavily confided in.
These reasons are why experts, security personal, and police officers have and are strongly

Haq 5

encouraging women to attend different functions and travel in groups to limit the possibility of
sexual assault and harassment. Which highly differ from the authors who focus on men being the
issue. The protectors of society rather women face the truth but do their best to keep themselves
out of harms way.
Victims of sexual assault are not always entirely aware of their surroundings and what is
going on with themselves during the attack. Often times, especially around the Greek lifestyle
(sororities and fraternities) there have been involved in many cases of date rape and other
assaults that have occurred because the victim was under the influence of some sort of substance.
Many times the way this is done is when a women is offered a drink usually alcoholic with
something mixed in it they are not aware of.
Drug Abuse on Campus
Another prevalent issue handled by campus security is drugs and drug abuse. Often times
when student do not know how to cope with the stress and pressures of everyday life and testing
times they turn to drugs as their relief. College is where through multiple sources and wild
parties every kind of drug is readily available. Like many violent offenses, drug abuse goes
unnoticed and unreported as well. Being in the college atmosphere it is not hard to point out who
is the student showing up to class under the influence of some illicit drug.
A survey funded by the U.S. Department of Education discovered that alcohol was the
most prevalent drug on campuses. With a monthly prevalence of 65.4% and an annual of 82.1%
of the 18 major drug groups tested. Following alcohol the second highest most prevalent drug
was marijuana at a monthly of 16.7% and an annual of 20.2%.

Haq 6

The previous statistics were placed in an article done by Virginia Ross, Ph.D. and
William DeJong, Ph.D. In the article they thoroughly dissect every aspect of drug use related to
students and campuses. The authors thoroughly explained which drugs fall into what category
and the side effects of each drug taken. For example the authors dedicated an entire subsection to
informing what club drugs are, their names, and along with their statistical use.
46% of the students surveyed claimed they did drugs to help alleviate stress, relax, and
temporarily forget about their problems. Some students falling in the remaining 54% claimed
they did it as a tactic to fit in at social gatherings. Others drink recklessly for solely the sake of
competition. Most campuses do not allow any sort of drugs unless specifically prescribed on
campus or in dorms connected to campus. (DeJong & Ross, 2009).
Mass Shootings on Campus
As the world grows so do the institutions of higher education. Over the years school
shootings have become somewhat of an unfortunate regular occurrence every few months or
more. There is a lot of talk by different camps on how to prevent school shootings and how to act
in an occurrence of one. A thought provoking statistic is that eleven of the fourteen mass
shootings on campus were driven by the obsession of success (Fox 2016). A possible solution
created by the author of The troubled Student and Campus Violence: New Approached was for
teachers, faculty, and students is to learn about the signs of the mental illness.
Some camps have even suggested the possibility of faculty and staff on campus carrying
weapons in case of a possible shootings. (Yoohyun Song 2016). More people carrying weapons
than necessary creates an unneeded tense environment. Campus security is often times equip

Haq 7

with guns and lesser weapons that include pepper spray, batons, and tasers (Yoohyun Song
2016).
To draw a conclusion campuses are not as safe as they are perceived by the media.
Constant dangers are prevalent on campus. The most common among campuses are sexual
assault and harassment, drug issues, and campus shootings. While these issues are being dealt
with, they are not at the level of attention as some irrelevant issues. Campus security is well
trained and out here protecting our studios learning environment.

Haq 8

Yoohyun Song. "Campus Security Should Not Be Armed." 23 Feb. 2016. Web. <http://eruanews.com/final-approach/2016/02/23/campus-security-should-not-be-armed/>.

Fox, James A., and Jenna Savage. "Mass Murder Goes to College An Examination of Changes
on College Campuses Following Virginia Tech." American Behavioral Scientist 52.10 (2009):
1465-485. Web.

Ross, Virginia, Ph.D., and William Dejong, Ph.D. "Other Drug Use and Abuse on Campus the
Scope of the Problem." (2009). Web.

Gray, Eliza. "University Survey Highlights Role of 'Verbal Coercion' in Sexual Assault."
Time.com. Time Magazine, 25 June 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
<http://time.com/3936005/university-michigan-sexual-misconduct-survey/

Lombardi, Kristen. "Sexual Assault on Campus "High Rates of Rape, Closed Hearings, and
Confusing Laws"" Publicintegrity.org. 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2009/12/01/9047/sexual-assault-campus-shrouded-secrecy>.

"Sexual Violence; Security on Campus and Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment Launch
Unprecedented Approach to Shattering the Silence of College Sexual Violence." Women's Health
Law Weekly (2011): 163. ProQuest. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Haq 9

Fabiano, Patricia M., H. Wesley Perkins, Alan Berkowitz, Jeff Linkenbach, and Christopher
Stark. "Engaging Men as Social Justice Allies in Ending Violence Against Women: Evidence for
a Social Norms Approach." Marriot Library. Nov.-Dec. 2003. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.