NORFOLK
More lighting along 41st, 42nd and other streets near Old Dominion University. More emergency call boxes. And a shuttle service that goes into the neighborhoods and has later hours on the weekends.
Students offered these suggestions and talked about their fears at a student-led rally at ODU on Wednesday, held to address a recent rash of violent crimes in the neighborhoods surrounding the school.
"I'm afraid to take night classes," Joel Ludwig said.
About 100 students, parents, administrators and police officials attended the forum at Webb University Center.
Organizers purposely called it a "rally" to get their peers hyped about the issue of safety, said Clif Gustafson, a 22-year-old finance major. The university has held town hall meetings to hear concerns, but Gustafson said many students have seen those as "political empty words."
Two weeks ago, a man was shot and killed less than a block from university housing, and in weeks prior, students had been robbed at gunpoint.
Gustafson, who was robbed last summer while sitting on his porch on West 41st Street, started a page on the online networking site, Facebook, called "ODU Is Not Safe!!!!!!!!" the day after the killing; it happened near his home.
Another student launched a separate Facebook page, "Students For Concealed Carry on the ODU campus," to gauge interest in approaching the university about lifting its ban on carrying guns and other weapons on campus.
Jennifer Mullen, a university spokeswoman, said ODU has no plans to reconsider its weapons policy.
Mullen said the school has seen an increase this year in robberies and assaults off campus, where more students are living with the shortage of on-campus housing. But robberies and assaults on campus have declined, she said.
Officer Chris Amos, a Norfolk police spokesman, said Wednesday night that robberies are up, but he could not verify whether the number of assaults has increased.
University and city police have said they will step up car and bicycle patrols of the area. A task force is being formed to look at safety and neighborhood issues, such as housing code enforcement.
Some suggestions, such as call boxes and more lighting in the neighborhoods, are out of the university's hands because those are city streets, Mullen said. She said ODU is already looking at expanding the shuttle service.
ODU Police Chief Rudolph Burwell said this week that the idea of Norfolk moving its Third Precinct station - at Goff Street and Tidewater Drive - to or near the campus "has been tossed around." But he emphasized that it wasn't a new idea, and that there have been no decisions or planning.
"There has been nothing concrete," Burwell said.
Gustafson said he'd like to see the university adopt some of the strategies being used by Virginia Commonwealth University, the state's largest school, which is in the center of Richmond.
There, the university police department relies on community policing and other approaches, including crime prevention seminars, landscaping to deter crime, and rape aggression defense courses. During the past 20 years, enrollment has nearly doubled but reported crimes have dropped, according to the VCU police department.
At the ODU rally, students said the university needed a better alert system.
One student said she was bothered that while she didn't get an alert about the shooting on 41st Street, she gets constant alerts when the weather is bad.
Another said the college should consider a "drunk bus" to carry students home from neighborhood parties. Several said they don't see enough police patrols on side streets, only on major corridors. One student praised campus police, saying that whenever she has called them for a ride home, they've helped.
Naomi Ramos Abreu, from Woodbridge, lives in freshman housing on 41st Street and said she doesn't feel safe anymore. She said the university should curtail enrollment if it can't give students more secure places to live.
"If you're going to accept that many students," she said, "you need to provide them security."
Pilot writer Matthew Bowers contributed to this report.
Denise Watson Batts, (757)446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com
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Know Your Neighborhood!
Students are able to view crimes around campus (and report them) by using the site www.ucrime.com. I've been using it for a few months now, and love that I could sign up for alerts which are emailed to me as soon as something happens near my address.
They've actually done a blog about the recent crimes here at ODU lately!
INcreasing code enforcement
INcreasing code enforcement will help in the long run, clean up the neighborhoods and crime will drop.
The New York Subway system found this was true! Roaches don't live in clean kitchens!
No weapons policy on ODU campus not a good policy
I didn't realize ODU had a had a no-carry policy on the campus. That really doesn't make any sense, especially since the criminals will know they can confront any student with no risk of getting shot. In surveys (often done in prison), criminals report that they're much more afraid of getting shot by a civilian than a cop.
And then there's the Appalachian School of Law (Grundy, VA), where two armed students tackled and subdued a student who'd shot six people on campus and intended (apparently) to shoot many more. But then students Mikael Gross and Tracy Bridges - who were armed - pulled their weapons and demanded that the shooter (Peter Odighizuwa) drop his weapons - and he did.
ODU needs to revisit its no weapons policy.
Everyone needs to calm down
ODU is in an urban setting, and while yes there has been a slight increase in incidents, it is not like someone is being attacked or robbed every day. With that said, the University and Norfolk police should investigate how to better patrol the problem areas. I work at ODU and often work late hours and I have never once feared for my safety while walking the Campus or surronding areas. As for police patrols, I often see patrol cars and bike patrols both on campus and in the surronding neighborhoods. INcreasing code enforcement will help in the long run, clean up the neighborhoods and crime will drop. I also take exception that Larchmont is considered a "high crime" area. I live in Larchmont and have never once feared for my safety while walking my neighborhood. Who should I fear, the children riding their bikes or my neighbors racking leaves?
Everyone needs to step back, relax and look for solutions instead of spreading fear.
How bout this...
Instead of telling college kids, yes they are kids, to "get real", "take self defense classes", "weapons training" and to "welcome them into the real world" how bout this. Ditch ODU!!! If its not safe, if your worried, the admin and city are doing nothing... take your dollars elsewhere. Its funny to watch all these comments from people telling kids how to live and deal with this crime infested wasteland. I went to college to have fun, learn and experience new things. Not take weapons training, start a neighborhood watch or learn tae-kwan-do?? You people have been here too long, you accept and live with mediocrity, rather then strive for something better, even if its outside the enchanted tidewater area?
Concealed handguns for All
I would have to agree with many of the previous posts.
Ok, imagine this scenario…Student w/smoking handgun that previously concealed vs. a dead mugger/rapist. Hmmm? Student wins and continues in their studies.
& Yes Virginia, it is legal to carry a concealed gun in VA even on campus. Key word, LEGAL
IGNORANCE REIGNS EVEN IN COLLEGE!!!
Why do people associate violence with legal carry when it is a proven FACT that increased concealed carry REDUCES crime? Colleges should allow concealed carry by law-biding citizens even if it means obtaining a special campus permit where defined additional training is mandated. Another VT massacre can occur anywhere, anytime except legal carry could prevent it all together or reduce the body count. Many of the deaths at VT were barricaded individuals fleeing the gunfire for lack of any other protection. Why do a majority of police have respect for CCP holders but policymakers do not? Name just ONE single community that saw a drop in crime when gun rights were suppressed? ANYONE? How does a criminal's actions or capability correlate to your need to infringe my right to self-defense? How does it logically support a "too many guns" defense? Does it REALLY reduce guns, crime, or violence?
Take responsibility!
Case law has established that it is NOT the police department's legal responsibility to ensure the citizens' safety. That means, they're try their best (and they do), but ultimately, you are responsible for your own safety - as it should be! Stop relying on the schools and police officers to protect yourself and be proactive. I offer this simple solution to protecting yourself on and off campus:
1. Buy a handgun and learn to use it safely and responsibly
2. Take the Concealed Carry course at Bob's Guns in downtown Norfolk
3. Go to your local courthouse (the city/county where you legally reside) and fill out the Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit application
4. Carry your concealed handgun everywhere that is legal, including ODU and NSU
Ghost Town
I'm a graduate student who takes night classes and is finishing up this semester (thank God), but I have never seen any police officer at night on campus - not once in two and a half years.
Goldfinch
What value would you put on your safety? Whatever fee they charge is a small price to pay for secure, well-lit parking areas, that are on campus, closer to your classes and minimize your risk of these off campus atacks. Forgetting the medical bills wold be associated with (god forbid) a shooting/rape/beating, the replacement value of your belongings that would be stolen in an attack/mugging is probably well over the fee that ODU charges to park. It is time to set priorities...
agree....
"There has always been plenty of crime but the advantage of have a campus police & a GOOD press department, the school had the ability to cover up most crimes"
agree 100% with you.
In response
First of all the comment about NSU is ignorant. I say this as an alumni of ODU. There has always been plenty of crime but the advantage of have a campus police & a GOOD press department, the school had the ability to cover up most crimes. There was everything from guns to rape that never got reported. What has been missing from news about these recent events is the situation of many of the robberies. These were DRUNK students stumbling back to the dorms on Friday & Saturday nights. This crime honestly is another result of lack of bars/clubs in the campus area.
I am also an alumi of NSU as well as ODU. Anyone in Hampton Roads know that NSU is considered the joke university not to many people take it serious. NSU is just like getting into a high school. JMO
Campus Safety
More lighting on campus is surely a good idea. Moving the police precinct onto campus is an excellent idea. That would be the ultimate. There was some talk on here of how VCU campus is so safe. I went there a year back in the 1980's and have worked in downtown Richmond. You won't catch me out on Broad Steet waiting to see a VCU game or ODU and VCU playing each other. VCU's campus is far from safe.
When seconds count, help is minutes away
I guess more call boxes will increase the odds you can get EMT to the scene before you bleed out, but they will not prevent your being mugged or raped.
The campus, with surrounding housing, is too large for police to be everywhere and the muggers can just blend in until the police are out of sight. The choice of where and when to strike is theirs. So, ultimately, you students of ODU are responsible for your own protection.
Too bad your University has decreed that even those of you who are trained and qualified to carry a firearm will be disarmed and have to fend off armed thugs, who are exempt from University rules, unarmed.
And, since your University has guaranteed that ODU students will be helpless prey, you should expect to be at the top of the mugger's list of victims. There is, after all, no deterrent to dissuade them.
ODU's Neighborhood
As a former undergrad and grad student who lived on 48th and 52nd Streets for several years in the late '90s and early '00s, I know this is not a safe area at night. When I would walk home from a night class, I always prepared myself for an altercation in a manner that would have probably gotten me expelled or arrested. It never had to be used, but I was ready in case (I took the NRA gun safety class - not something ODU offers). Unfortunately, most of my fellow ODU classmates are not prepared in such a way. I saw drug deals in front of my house, was the victim of an attempted home invasion, and had several neighbors who were the targets of theft. But this has been going on near ODU for many, many years, and the city has done squat about it, regardless what they say. I encourage all students to learn how to defend themselves, buy a big and loud dog (and post "Beware of Dog signs), and to not live in fear. If a thug runs into somebody who can defend themselves, they will think twice about doing it again. They are cowardly dogs looking to take advantage of the weak.
Are you surprised?
I am not surprised about the crime occuring around or on the ODU campus. As an ODU student, campus police are not visible nor do they bring a presence on campus. Try leaving the campus around 10 at night to see what I mean. I agree with previous posters, ODU students have to pay arond $150 dollars a year for the priviledge to park their vehicles and oftentimes there is no parking. Therfore if you have a evening class you end up parking "in the middle of nowhere" with little to no protection against the criminal element. It is high time that ODU starts actually thinking about its students than trying to compete with other universities for the biggest campus.
Dual Responsibility
Petty criminals see college students as prime targets, regardless of which school and where it is located. The belief is that even if students don't have cash on them, they have the latest gadgets from iPods and expensive cell phones to laptops. ODU has done a wonderful job of making the campus safe. Now it is up to students and the community to make the surrounding area safe... be aware of your surroundings. Keep big ticket items concealed. If you carry a laptop with you, buy a messenger bag or backpack with integrated laptop carrier... don't carry it in the big obvious laptop bag with DELL emblazoned on it.
I do agree with the article that building code enforcement will go great lengths toward reducing crime... make the neighborhood LOOK like the neighborhood you want it to be and it will start becoming it.
NSU vs ODU?
What do you mean about NSU? It is a great school with great students and faculty. ODU is also a great school with great students and faculty. The article is about crime in the area of ODU and how it is affecting the students. Not about the quality of ODU as an institution.
How Naive ~
These students scare me with their demands of 'government' Who has been holding their hands for most of their young live? I'm sure the school- oops, university, has ongoing orientation sessions for new students, which instructs where to go around the campus and where not to go. Then there's finally 'google', type in crime stats norfolk va. and get a map of lamberts point, park place, and larchmont communities, havens for all crimes. ODU Police chief Rudy Burwell is no stranger to the stats and situation, he's a retired highly decorated Norfolk Police Officer. Here's a quick suggestion, i get this from the norfolk jewish community; they have strung a red thread around the ghent community that instructs them where they can walk about during the sabbath, there's some restriction in their faith that prohibits walk abouts unless sanctified by the rabbi, So, let's place signs around ODU which instructs the population as to areas to avoid, simple yellow caution signs all along kellam ave, and powhattan, and such areas. Increase the street lighting in those areas as well and get the area community organizations involved, crime affects their property values as well.
Wake up call
In case these students didn't know it ODU is actually in the middle of a large city! Along with that comes the good and bad elements that live there. The students are an "easy" mark for criminals....they are engrossed in cell phone conversations, have Ipods plugged in thier ears as they walk in oblivion down the streets that surround the school. They need to help themselves too just like any resident in the city, by banding together forming a neighborhood watch program and offer security escorts. The city needs to offer improved lighting around the school and parking areas as well as increase police patrols including the bike officers. These students do deserve to be able to get around school with a higher degree of security than they currently are being afforded.