Campus security needs assessment

Two recent sexual assaults at Carleton University in Ottawa and York University in Toronto stunned not only faculty and students, but anyone who had presumed campuses to be secure environments.

The attacker at Carleton beat a 23-year-old student unconscious as she worked in a campus lab, then sexually assaulted her. At York University, two female students were raped in their dorm rooms and a third escaped unharmed after an attempted attack.

These scenarios immediately raise fears about whether our universities are safe and secure. Because in both cases the aggressor is thought to hold no connections to the victims, one has to ask just how accessible our facilities are to outsiders.

Queen’s labs and campus buildings are locked at night but accessible to anyone with a key, and don’t all have the more secure swipe system. Residences aren’t impressively protected from intruders either. Anyone can enter the buildings by loitering long enough for someone with a key, and few students keep their doors locked at all times. At York, both girls were sleeping with their doors unlocked when their intruders came in.

Queen’s has made sure, however, that if you do lock up, you’ve got nothing to worry about—all residence room locks are designed to resist any forced openings.

Other areas of campus are equally targetable, but perhaps hold a different allure for attackers as the concentration of people and tight-knit atmosphere means their crime will achieve the grandeur they are likely seeking.

Moreover, campuses are home to a large population of young women, the population most vulnerable to attack, and their populations have a reputation for drinking that leaves students less aware of their surroundings.

This isn’t to say Queen’s has been totally inactive in preventing assaults on its grounds. Services such as Walkhome and Campus Security provide students with the option of being safely escorted home, or receiving frequent check-ups if working late on campus. Newer residences, too, have heightened security features to ensure

student protection.

Nevertheless, students should be more aware of what goes on around them, and an evaluation of Queen’s security measures is needed to make campus security not just a concern, but a priority.

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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