Baton Rouge University Case Study

“I fear for my life and the lives of others on campus. I do not believe that this student is mentally sound” (Hoeft). Life is a precious thing; one may not realize how important it is until they are faced with a threat on their mortality. More than thirty of Virginia Tech’s students were faced with that mortality on April 16, 2007, when Seung-Hui Cho murdered them with two semiautomatic handguns, and then he killed himself. Many problems lead to this unfortunate event, and many people seem to blame the school. Lynn Daggett, a Professor at the Gonzaga University School of Law, states, “Schools struggle with whether, when, and how to involve the police, both when students appear to present a threat to others, as in these high profile cases,

Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about

The University of California, Riverside, is known for its high crime rate. We constantly get notices and emergency warnings about robberies and kidnappings. As students, we walk in fear at night. Whether we live on campus or near campus, the chances of being mugged or sexually assaulted is always a possibility. When a person is afraid, his or her movements are limited. Thus, the existence of a police department on campus can help expand those limitations as it provides protection.

Two specific groups that I identify with as part of my decision to attend Columbia Southern University is based on my family and work. As an individual my choice to attend is based on my own desire to achieve a higher education in order to obtain a job that is satisfactory to the life and goals I have mapped out for myself. By having a job for which I have specifically attended school for, it will allow me to get and sustain a career conducive to my own happiness and prosperity. While my own individual choice to attend school is great, I have a family that encouraged me greatly in this decision. Both my mother and father, between the two, have a Master’s degree in criminal justice, and a Bachelor's degree in paramedic studies. Naturally

The mainstream media leads many to believe that mass shootings on college campuses are very common, and are in despite need of gun reform. This is actually false information, the truth is that campuses and other schools are among the safest places in America. According to recent studies, the actual homicide rates on campuses are one in one million, considerably less than the nationwide average of fifty-seven million. In addition, other crimes are still proven to be less likely to happen at colleges, rather than in common rural areas. And in most

Campus security at Louisiana State University of Alexandria is not as good as it should be. LSUA, like most college campuses, is a campus where almost anyone from anywhere can step foot on campus without having to go through any security checks. Someone can easily walk on campus grounds and possibly harm students or faculty. This is a very important issue that LSUA faces daily along with many other colleges and universities around the country. LSUA’s campus police has around 6-7 officers, which isn’t enough to cover most of the campus. Every now and then I see a university police officer patrol the campus streets trying

On April 16th 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a student with psychological problems began a two hour killing spree that left 33 dead (Reader). The massacre that occurred at this school is now the worst recorded incident in the history of the United States and eclipses the University of Texas massacre of 1966. In the wake of tragedies like these, students, teachers and administrators propose more measures to make us feel safe on campus. But why weren't these measures in place before? School administrators and police have a responsibility to protect their students and faculty on campus, and these instances clearly shown a lack of fulfilling that responsibility. And yet several campus' refuse to allow law-abiding and

Although eight states have passed provisions allowing concealed weapons on public campuses and several other states allow campuses to decide if they are allowed, instead colleges should take a holistic view and approach to provide a robust security program, safety training, communication network and guidance on behavior awareness for faculty and students. As States continue to pass campus carry laws the colleges continue to funnel the majority of their focus dedicated to passing the law. This has eroded and overshadowed the end result, which is to protect students and faculty. Campuses should not allow students to carry guns on campus. By providing this false sense of security it dilutes the opportunity to implement tools, train and provide strategies to improve campus safety.

As students embark on the journey that is college many new obstacles are bound to come their way, but yet, safety and security should never be the reason for fear in a student. It is becoming more clear that college campus shootings can happen and Gary Pavela and James Alan Fox have outlined the reasons why previous shootings have caused problems within college administration in modern times. Due to research on capmus shootings college administration has increased their safety measures in the wrong ways. College campuses have hindered the well-being of students then and now because administrative teams are attempting to make safety their first priority, , but in turn actually enlisting fear into student’s minds.

Most everyone remembers that horrific morning in 2007, when the Virginia Tech shootings occurred and took the nation by surprise. Since this event, campuses around the country have taken action on and off campus to add security and safety measures so these shootings will not happen again. But how has East Carolina University’s crime rate and gun control been since these shootings?

Safety is always a concern. I was shocked to find out that the small Muskingum University has an overall crime rating of C- when compare reported on-campus, city, and regional crime against all other schools nationwide. Muskingum University earns an overall crime rating of C Muskingum has far more than average reported offenses. The University of Kentucky earned an overall crime rating of C+ when compare reported on-campus, city, and regional crime against all other schools. When all violations are totaled and weighed by both severity and the number of students at the school, UK has average reported offenses.

In the past, there have been several shootings in schools across the nation. However, the students and staffs are questioning should the concealed weapon permit carriers have firearms in their possession on college campuses. Even though concealed weapon permit carriers are protecting themselves from harm by having their firearms; still other people are raising their eyebrows. On the other hand, there are other people who think carrying concealed weapons on campuses will cause more harm and the death toll will rise. As Time. Com writer Josh Sanburn points out that “the shooting at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1, which claimed 10 lives including the gunman, is by far the worst incident on a college campus this year” (qtd. in Sanburn). Therefore,

The tragic events at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February of 2008 have policymakers, campus officials and citizens looking for solutions to prevent future attacks (Dickerson). Violent shootings that have occurred on a few college campuses in recent years have provoked a debate over

Thirdly, visitors on a campus is not a bad thing, but they must be monitored for student safety. There have been other crimes on campuses like purse snatching in the middle of the day, car break-ins, and shoplifting at the school stores. In addition, the most up-to-date statistics show there were more than 35,000 reported crimes on U.S. college campuses in just one year. Furthermore, if a crime occurs the person involved can be identified easier by checking the log book and talking to security. Having more than one safety measure in place allows further evidence if something was to happen.

Over the last two and half decades, campus crime as a social issue has come to the forefront of public attention and is regularly reported in both print and electronic media. Specific and general legislation has also been passed in order to prevent campus crime from occurring as well as to educate those who are either in danger of victimization or have the ability to prevent victimization and assure that justice is done. However, campus crime is not a new issue in regard to its occurrence, only in that it has finally attracted both public and media attention. Furthermore, Sloan III and Fisher (2011) suggest that this movement to recognize and prevent the occurrence of crime on college and university campuses (known throughout this book as the dark side of the ivory tower) did not pop up overnight. Instead, they argue that through a long and arduous process, four different activist groups were able to socially construct the problem as a proper and pertinent social issue, and influence legislation designed to curb campus crime, and hold those responsible, accountable for their action or inaction.