Campus safety is a growing issue at Monmouth as students’ concerns heighten surrounding recent developments concerning the security of female community members. According to the University’s Clery Act report released Oct. 1, domestic violence on-campus has increased since 2019. As a result, The Outlook’s editors have come together to discuss this new reality, as well as how they each perceive Monmouth’s commitment to ensure safe campus grounds.
The editors generally agreed that Monmouth has areas to improve upon in regard to its safety protocols and how students are looked after on a day-to-day basis. One editor bluntly stated, “I don’t feel as though Monmouth has done a great job in creating a safe campus environment…We pay a lot of money to attend an institution that’s supposed to protect us. The University needs to take stronger measures to make all students feel safe.”
Universities across the United States are facing increased problems related to on-campus violence against women. Unfortunately, this does not surprise some of our editors.
One editor said, “This is not at all surprising to me seeing the attitudes of individuals and organizations on campus like Greek Life…Every single girl I know has told me some story about sexual assault or harassment that they or their friends experienced…The lack of action addressing issues like this is the pinnacle reason as to why this campus is so dangerous for women.”
A good majority of our editors are themselves women, explaining their own personal safety concerns. “Fortunately, I haven’t directly been affected; however, whenever I am staying on campus late at night and walking alone to my car, I am on edge. I am sure this is not an uncommon feeling among students,” explained a female editor.
Another female editor responded, saying, “I didn’t know that the University’s on-campus violence against women has almost tripled since 2019…This is something everyone should be aware of but it doesn’t feel like a lot of people on campus are talking about this issue.”
While many of our editors took recent incidents into account and even recalled their own experiences, we can’t help but wonder what actions the University is taking to rectify students’ safety concerns.
One editor suggested, “I think installing functional and monitored security cameras alongside better lighting in parking lots.”
Another added, “I feel like the school should have a few more MUPD cars patrolling the campus, especially at night. I’d like to walk back to my dorm from my 9 p.m. class knowing that I am safe.”
The editors also considered the fact that Monmouth’s campus is open to the surrounding community.
“Granted there have been no major threats to Monmouth, but the campus is open to anyone who steps foot and could have a weapon on them,” elaborated an editor.
A different editor agreed, saying, “I was actually speaking to a friend about campus safety, and we both feel that the open campus policy brings unwanted visitors to campus, potentially jeopardizing the safety of students and staff.”
Another editor proposed, “The school should consider having a gated system that allows only students and faculty to have access to entering and leaving campus instead of just having open gates and easy entry access for anyone. I think this would help eliminate suspicious people from entering our campus and it’s buildings.”
All in all, campus safety is an issue that concerns not only the editors but other Monmouth students and community members. Other members of our community have similar concerns over this issue which is also a big concern among our editors. With violence on the rise in society and American college campuses, there is much to be concerned about. We believe the University should take greater precautions in managing students’ and faculty’s safety.
