University President Henry Bienen reassured parents about campus safety Saturday morning, responding to concerns that surfaced after a graduate student was attacked on the Lakefill on Oct. 8.
Bienen spoke to about 150 parents and students regarding the safety of NU’s campus in an hour-long speech at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall as part of Family Weekend.
“This is a very well-lit campus despite what other students may say,” Bienen said. “It is very inaccurate to say that it’s not safe.”
Eugene Sunshine, vice president for business and finance, is looking into different safety campus concerns, and light density on campus is currently being mapped to determine where more lights should be added, Bienen said. To increase lighting on campus, administrators will add floodlights outside dorms, as they can be installed quickly and offer the most powerful lighting with the fewest fixtures.
“We will be putting in floodlights around campus again. But students have complained about the lights being too bright in the past, so we had to take them down,” Bienen said. “Things just go in a cycle.”
But some students said the bright lights are well worth the annoyance.
“I think safety is more important than convenience in this case,” said Elizabeth Hay, a Weinberg freshman. “We do have curtains for a reason.”
At least one parent spoke out on campus safety issues, raising concerns similar to those that spurred Women’s Coalition to draft a petition urging administrators to implement more comprehensive safety measures. Women’s Co had planned to hand out fliers at the event, hoping parents would help them apply pressure on administrators, but no literature ended up being handed out.
James Pister of Seattle, whose daughter attends NU, criticized the placement of the blue lights and emergency phones on campus, saying they’re hard to locate, unlike other campuses he has visited.
Pister said he had raised the same concern last year but received no specific answer.
“I think one of the things that concerns me is that I’ve been on this campus three times and the comment I’ve heard is that it’s a very safe campus, but I get the feeling that there’s a certain defensive attitude about it,” Pister said.
In response to Pister, Bienen cited statistics about past assaults. In the past three-and-a-half years, there have been only three forcible assaults and seven robberies committed by strangers, he said.
“He gave statistics to prove the campus is safe, but those numbers are enough to be concerned,” Pister said. “I get the sense that they are unwilling to talk about it.”
NU lacks the amount of lighting found on other campuses, said Ginny Gustafson of Grand Rapids, Mich., but she said the campus is safe anyway.
“I did go visit University of Southern California with my daughter, and there were blue lights everywhere, but the campus was basically an isolated island and needed that kind of security,” Gustafson said. “But here it’s different.”
Although the Oct. 8 attack on the jogger has shaken the NU community, Gustafson said there’s little else that can be done.
“I don’t think you can do a whole lot more than what you have now,” Gustafson said. “Maybe there is a false sense of security because it’s such a beautiful campus, and it’s an eye-opener whenever something like that happens.”
Aside from the physical safety concerns, one parent also questioned Bienen about the precautions taken against anthrax for students working in the mail room. William Banis, vice president for student affairs, said an e-mail regarding safety precautions already has been sent out and rubber gloves were distributed to mailroom workers.
Bienen stressed to parents that students are safe at NU, and the possibility of terrorist attacks against the university is quite slim.
“I don’t think you should have any exaggerated fears of safety on this campus,” Bienen told parents in the audience. “This is a very safe campus and I just wanted you to hear that from me.”