The Michigan Daily - Monday June 12 2000
Safety remains an important issue during summer
By Ginnefer Cox
Daily Staff Reporter
Although the University is home to less students
during the spring and summer terms, the issue of
campus safety remains a concern. Students taking
classes over the summer, orientation students and
summer program participants may not be aware of
campus safety or measures taken to ensure the
safety of people on campus.
The Department of Public Safety has a staff of
police officers trained for specific duties such as
public safety, communications. parking enforce-
ment and police duty.
One of these services DPS offers is the availabili-
ty of officers at any time through blue emergency
phones that are strategically placed around campus.
A person only has to pick up the phone without
speaking, and a DPS officer is immediately sent to
that location for assistance.
Public Information Officer Diane Brown said
DPS does not lower its standard of safety for the
summer. "We provide full safety service 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. We don't stop," Brown said.
For students who are on campus late at night
and would like an escort to walk them home, DPS
offers an escort service. DPS also trains University
students as Student Assistant Field Employees
who work over campus safety services.
Safewalk and Northwalk are the primary ser-
vices headed by SAFE. students. Safewalk offers
students an escort within the central campus area,
while Northwalk covers the north campus area.
Safewalk is available throughout the entire sum-
mer. Due to the fesv number of students that are
housed on north campus, Northwalk will not be
available to students until September.
"We just don't have the response during the
summer to keep Northvalk open," Stacy
Dempsey. Safewalk coordinator. said.
LSA junior Stacy Gaudy. who lives in family
housing, said she was nervous for her safety on
north campus.
"I had heard rumors of gang activity in the sur-
rounding areas, but once I moved in, I felt secure.
But I think north campus dwellers should be con-
cerned that Northwalk is unavailable for spring
and summer half terms," Gaudy said.
For the many of students who live off-campus,
services are offered to ensure off- campus safety
as well.
Sergeant Mike Logghe of the Ann Arbor Police
Department recommends that students keep their
windows and doors locked at all times, and added
the AAPD is aware of the safety of off-campus stu-
dents. "What's most important is for the students to
take the precautions," Logghe said.
Yellow Cab service also works with the
university to provide late night transportation for
students. The Ride Home Program offers free taxi
service to students from the undergraduate library
after 2 a.m.. The Night Ride offers students a ride
home within the Ann Arbor area for only S2 00.
John Heed, manager of Yellow Cab, said non
many students take advantage of the Ride Home
Program during the summer. "There aren't very
many students we pick up in the summer. My guess
is 15 a night. The one suggestion I've gotten from
other people is to incorporate more pickup points
for the Ride Home" Heed said.
For the summer, Brown encourages students to
be aware of the different flow of people in Ann
Arbor during the summer.
"The traffic on campus is very different. Summer
boils down to a lot of people who aren't traditionally
on campus," Brown said.
MSU tops weapons arrests
By Stephen Daniel Burlingame
For the Daly
The Chronic/e of Higher Education reported last Sunday
that of the 481 four-year schools examined in a 1998 study,
Michigan State University leads the nation with 49 weapons
arrests in a single year.
The same study revealed that in Ann Arbor, the
University's Department of Public Safety arrested seven peo-
ple on weapons charges in 1998.
"All seven of these were non-U of M affiliated people,"
Diane Brown, public information officer for DPS, said.
In other words, the weapon-possessing criminals were not
staff, faculty or students, but rather outsiders who just hap-
pened to be on University property.
The Chronicle also looked at alcohol-related arrests -
MSU and Western Michigan University both placed in the
top five. Combined, the number of arrests on both campuses
exceeded 1.000. The University had 373, and did not place in
the top five for either category.
Since universities report crimes differently, it is difficult to
say how safe one campus is by comparing its statistics to
another. For example, if the University defines campus crime
based on location and status (student/non-student) whereas
Eastern Michigan University defines theirs based solely on
the location of the crime, then Eastern will no doubt have
smaller numbers.
"Given these different factors, a high number of weapons
arrests should not necessarily designate a university as dan-
gerous," LSA junior Sarah Linkner said. "I am glad that Ann
Arbor is a fairly safe place to live."
"We do have a low incidence of major crime here in Ann
Arbor," Brown said. "But students should always be aware of
their surroundings and of their belongings."
The single highest incidence of crime here at the
University is theft. DPS receives several calls each week
reporting minor theft cases, ones which could have been eas-
ily prevented had students taken precautionary measures to
ensure the safety of their belongings, Brown said.
"We look at our campus as one in which we are constantly
trying to enhance our security efforts," said Brown. She cited
housing security officers, University bus drivers and mainte-
nance workers as some of the many people who act as addi-
tional eyes and ears for DPS.
NORMAN NG,,
Officers Dave Dupuis (left) and Mark West of the University Police Department
conduct routine bike patrols around Central Campus.
PETITIONS for the campaign.
As Smith has already announced
Continued from Page bid for the governor's chair in 20
bills made it difficult to reach the stu- Ballenger said it would have been be
dent body. if she had never undertaken the drive
"If the student governments don't "Senator Smith has a credibi
understand (the HELP legislation), it threshold," Ballenger said. "(The fail
would be difficult for students to find to get signatures) makes her look it
out about it," Handler said. fective."
Bill Ballenger, editor of liside "It would have been worse if I
.Vichigan Politics, saw the problems n't do anything" Smith said. "If
from a different angle. have a good proposal and you can't,
"These days you need a tremendous it legislatively, the best thing to do is
amount of money, you need the support to the people."
of special interests...to even have a The bill cannot be tried again
chance, and (Smith) had none of that" 2002, but Smith isn't discouraged.
Ballenger said. "I wouldn't be too very surprise
Ballenger said he felt that even given Governor Engler tried to do someth
more time and money, Smith wouldn't similar in the next year or year an
have been able to garner enough support half," Smith said.
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