Campo or 5–0
What is the correct role for Campus Safety on a safe campus
Taking shelter from the rain on a ride back to Turner Hall in an unmarked Campus Saftey vehicle, Corporal Alonso Vejar described his twofold mission: “First and foremost, to keep the community safe, the community including not only the students but the faculty staff and campus department members who work here. And, second, to educate and keep their persons and property safe while they’re on campus.”
Dressed in the official Campus Saftey attire — a black work shirt, green slacks, a shiny metal badge, and a utility belt fitted around his waist — the only thing that sets apart Corporal Vejar from a police officer at first glance is the absence of a firearm. Policing, though, isn’t how the Department of Campus Safety page on Whittier College’s website describes its role : “Whittier College is committed to a safe and secure environment for all students.”
College life, though, can often be synonymous with a certain degree of raucousness, loud music and partying. So much so that frequently visited college ranking sites like Niche.com, Princetonreview.com, and Bestcolleges.com include party-scene rankings in addition to the academic rankings. As such, Campus Safety Officers are confronted with the issue of how much resources to put into regulating the use of state-legal substances such as alcohol or marijuana on campus versus crimes against the students themselves.
While Campus Safety’s mission to ensure “a safe and secure environment for all students” might necessarily involve keeping a lid on overly boisterous or potentially dangerous party scenes, some students believe it operates more as a policing force than a safety net by focusing on victimless crimes such as alcohol and marijuana violations.
Pretty much everyone either has themselves or knows someone on campus who has been caught up by Campus Saftey. These encounters often result in a strike on the school’s Three Strike Policy, by which three alcohol and or drug violations will lead to the removal of a student from their housing residence without reimbursement of boarding fees. Some say the policy is a source of rancor between students and Campus Safety.
A student with two strikes spoke about this on the condition anonymity. “I understand the reasons for the policy being there but, I feel like busts, specifically for marijuana happen all the time. Even if we try to keep it low-key it feels like we’re being watched and it makes me feel scared,” the student said.
As for the policy itself, the student felt it was unfair, “like the school could kick students out of dorms for whenever they wanted for their own benefit.”
I understand the reasons for the policy being there but, I feel like busts, specifically for marijuana happen all the time. Even if we try to keep it low-key it feels like we’re being watched and it makes me feel scared.
Whittier College, is a small, private, liberal arts college with an enrollment of about 1900 students that is almost evenly split between commuters and residents and a way-above-average student-faculty ration of 12:1 It is a safe place when looking at the Clery Act crime statistics.
The Clery Act requires the school to publish its reported-crime statistics every three years. Statistics for 2014–2016 are available on Campus Safety’s webpage. During this time, of the 485 crimes reported under the Clery Act, 62 were against persons and property. Persons and property crimes could include criminal homicide, sexual assault, violence against women (including dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, hate crimes, and weapons law violations. The most recent reporting period shows that 12.8 percent of reported crimes on campus were against persons and property. The remaining 87.2 percent were drug and alcohol violations and arrests.
According to a National Center for Educational Statistics study looking at reported crimes on four-year colleges across the country, crimes against persons or property accounted for 26.9 percent of reported crimes, while drug and alcohol violations made up 73.1 percent. This indicates that Whittier College is above national averages when it comes to personal and property safety, but possibly less tolerant of on-campus drug and alcohol consumption.
Not that the campus is worry-free. In October, during a daylong burglary spree, someone was able to steal computers and other items from three separate residence halls in one day. (In 2015, three burglaries happened on campus in total). In February of 2019, the school was put on lockdown, following reports of an armed man on campus. The reports, thankfully, turned out to be wrong, but some students complained of being locked outside with no Campus Saftey Officers around to respond in case of emergency.
Most alarming, though, is the high number of reported sex offenses. Sex offenses cover forced and nonforced sex-related crimes including rape, fondling, incest, and statutory rape. During the most recent Clery Act period, there were a reported 16 sex offenses. Of these 16 sex offenses, 12 were reported as rape. For all the 62 crimes against persons shown by the Clery Act, rape is was the most frequent on campus, almost 20 percent of all reported crimes reported against person.
Meanwhile, the surrounding City of Whittier’s overall crime rate is 17 percent above the national average. So, while Whitter College’s overall crime compares favorably with campuses across the nation, we don’t live in a bubble.
Given our relative safety, though, it may seem like Campus Safety puts an emphasis on drug and alcohol infractions, but there is a correlation between the use of alcohol and violent crimes, according to a study done by John Hopkins University, which reports that between 2002 and 2008, about one in five people serving time for violent crimes reported being under the influence when the crime occurred.
Even so, some Whittier College students say they’d like to be given a certain level of privacy and respect. Given the national trend of marijuana legalization and decriminalization, academic institutions might need to revisit drug and alcohol policies. Some students here wonder how much priority Campus Saftey should place on conducting busts, especially given the campus’s liberal atmosphere,. One suggestion would be to allocate more resources to drug and alcohol awareness and rehabilitation, rather than cracking down on users.
To its credit, Campus Safety says it is open to dialogue about improving its perception on campus. As Corporal Vejar put it, “There’s always room for improvement.” Improvement is great, but it will take a proactive approach from both students and Campus Saftey to foster an atmosphere of collaboration over confrontation.
