On March 2, Saint Xavier students received an email titled “Annual Security Report.” It included a link for students to view the annual Clery Report, which goes into detail on the statistics for offenses that have taken place on campus from 2019-2021.
The report showed that the biggest offenses on campus in recent years included liquor and drug violations with 75 alcohol and 23 drug infractions in 2019. This has lessened to 16 alcohol and 0 drug infractions by 2021, showing heavy improvement.
Aside from this, the offenses were either nonexistent or low.
Some of the other campus occurrences included forcible sex offenses, aggravated battery, burglary, hate-related crimes, domestic violence, and dating violence.
Despite the rather low rates of crime on campus, some students have safety concerns when they are here.
One member of the editorial board said, “I think having the doors unlocked all the time is a tragedy waiting to happen.”
When the pandemic hit, the Warde Academic Center, among other campus facilities, required a Cougar Card to scan in for entry. The doors would be locked otherwise.
Now, the buildings have returned to having unlocked doors during the school day, with the only buildings requiring scan-in access being resident halls.
Such has caused a lot of safety concerns and issues presented in this article. The doors to buildings like the Warde were found open in the university’s “after hours” accompanied by an empty front desk at varying documented times.
Other members mentioned a fear of walking around at night, feeling unsettled with there being a lack of the emergency telephones available on campus.
One member of the board said they “often” feel unsafe while walking on campus at night.
A different member added onto this topic by saying campus is really dark at night and that is a large contributor to feeling unsafe on campus.
Regarding feeling unsafe at night, one more board member added that there may not be “enough emergency telephones around campus.”
Although there are 22 emergency telephones spread around campus, there are very few in the parking lots or along the roads and sidewalks.
So while the report showcases a campus that is safe and welcoming for students, there are, of course, concerns regarding safety precautions.
The report does hold Saint Xavier accountable for taking care of such issues as the report is public for students and the community. Yet the issue of what is unreported still exists.
One thing the board members made clear was the positive experiences they have had with Public Safety, the people in charge of keeping the campus safe and keeping a lookout.
One board member said, “Last night, my friend’s car broke down in the parking lot. Public Safety was extremely helpful and immediately showed up.”
There was wide agreement that Public Safety is also helpful when it comes to being locked out of a building or resident hall.
The many services they offer not only include ones as mentioned, but also expand to more serious emergencies.
Students should be at ease knowing that there are people working to make sure their experience at Saint Xavier is pleasant and safe.
For non-emergencies, call 773-298-3541. For actual emergencies, call 773-298-3911. They are available every day at every hour.
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