THE MOST fundamental task of administrators and student government leaders should be to safeguard the security of the student body. With an increasing number of students being affected by a spate of crimes occurring before Thanksgiving break, crime and student safety have become an important topic on Grounds.
While the University's leaders must foster a discussion about crime prevention, it is crucial that such a discussion transcend the traditional focus on protecting student from the dangers of the outside world. To this end, students and University leaders must rethink its conception of crime, as not only a danger that must be protected against, but also as a sign of the failure of the Charlottesville community to provide equal opportunities for its residents. Ultimately, the University will only address the root causes of crime when it engages leaders from organizations in the outside community to improve the quality of life in Charlottesville.
While crime is always a hot-button issue on Grounds, in October and November a series of incidents put it at the center of discussion. With The Cavalier Daily's Nov. 16 News article "Sending out an SOS" reporting on a series of assaults, along with the startling fact that the number of Charlottesville burglaries quadrupled to 62 from September to October, it's no wonder that issues of crime and student safety have become such a salient issue.
While response to these incidents has rightly focused on the increased the presence of law enforcement, as well as on improving education on services available for student safety and general vigilance on Grounds, it has not dealt at directly with the root causes of crime. University spokesperson Carol Wood told the Cavalier Daily that, "In the past year the U.Va. police and the city police have always worked very closely on crime prevention. This past year they've started doing joint foot patrols." In addition to this Wood emphasized that, "Even though Charlottesville is a very safe community they still be aware of their surrounding and be cautious and careful," and that "One of the biggest things is the blue phones, safe ride and the extended bus hours, and they need to use those things because they're their they were created for them."
Traditional efforts such as these must play an central role in any efforts to protect student safety. Yet while lighted walkways and Safe Ride are undoubtedly important toward protecting students from late-night street crime, there is only so much that such efforts can accomplish. With major expansions in lighting and increased vigilance on Grounds, most security gains from such measures have already been realized.
In addition to this, by only focusing on protective efforts such as these, the University unintentionally isolates itself from the greater Charlottesville community. By primarily focusing on efforts to insulate students from the problems that affect Charlottesville, the University encourages separation of the student body from the wider community. While such effects are unintentional and do not diminish the importance of measures such as lighted walkways or student vigilance, it is nonetheless crucial for students to refocus their efforts around engagement with the Charlottesville community.
To this end, University leaders should work with Charlottesville leaders to expand existing programs and create new ones to promote community development and address the root causes of crime. Mason Hubbard, Chair of the Safety and Wellness Committee of Student Council, notes that, "We have a committee whose sole responsibility is community relations and outreach," and that, "we are also making an effort to make students more aware of what they can personally do to insure their safety." While such efforts are a good basis from which to form a new strategy to address the roots of crime, student leaders must work to refocus the discussion about crime on grounds to include community outreach.
Ultimately, such a refocusing can only occur if student groups join with Student Council and the administration to improve the Charlottesville community.This process would be aided if Student Council developed an action plan to engage student organizations and Charlottesville groups in community building efforts. These efforts should focus on utilizing the student resources to strengthen existing community service programs in education and mentoring as well as starting new programs such as bostering drug treatment programs or aiding in the reintegration of convicts returning to society. Such a plan would represent a major step forward toward establishing innovative approaches to crime prevention and community building.
In the end, the University can never escape its intricate ties to the Charlottesville community. Any attempts to improve the safety of students and the quality of life in Charlottesville must acknowledge this fact if it is to have any chance of success.
Adam Keith is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at akeith@cavalierdaily.com.
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