(Written by Savannah Jones)
MORGANTOWN W.Va – Less than a month before West Virginia University students return to campus, conversations surrounding campus safety are swirling among city and university officials.
University President E. Gordon Gee and University Police Chief Sherry St. Clair sent a letter to the Morgantown City Council on July 11, listing off-campus safety issues as a main concern among the campus community.
The letter comes in response to a proposed expansion to the city’s camping ban by Third Ward Councilor Louise “Weez” Michael at the July 2 Morgantown City Council meeting. WVU did not express direct support for the ban but called for action against rising safety issues near campus.
The letter mentioned six arrests and four outstanding warrants issued to UPD over the past two weeks, saying incidents are on the rise and calling the problem “intolerable.”
“It is imperative that this crisis be addressed immediately by all parties involved. The University strongly supports a serious and thoughtful discussion in the Committee of the Whole, as proposed by Councilor Michael, and suggests that together we address these issues directly and develop solutions that are both expeditious and sustainable for our greater community,” the letter said.
In April, UPD released the results of their campus community safety survey, which revealed 526 of 1,080 respondents reported feeling unsafe on WVU’s campus.
Koltin Davis, a junior theater design and technology student at WVU, said he too has felt unsafe on campus in the past, calling the downtown campus “safe with stipulations.”
“I would say it’s a double-edged sword. On Evansdale, I definitely 100% feel safe, but downtown it gets a little shaky, like someone tried to steal my bag before,” he said.
Davis said the perpetrator in this incident was not a WVU student, and he was never notified if they were apprehended by UPD after he reported the incident.
He said he feels that WVU’s downtown campus requires more campus police presence, which he hasn’t felt in the past. Davis isn’t alone in this sentiment, as 582 respondents said a more visible police presence on campus would improve safety at WVU in the campus community safety survey.
Davis said that as a “larger-statured white man,” he feels he is not an easy target for crime, but said other students may feel differently.
“I’m not exactly a person that people would go for; however, at the Creative Arts Center, the population is predominantly female. A lot of my friends have dealt with things that definitely would indicate an unsafe environment,” he said.
Andrew Dougherty, a senior political science and history major at WVU, said he doesn’t have many safety concerns as a student but feels the presence of individuals outside the university community on campus could potentially be dangerous.
“Sometimes there are more sketchy people downtown, and sometimes it bleeds onto campus,” he said. “I would say that’s what makes it the most unsafe is when those people come into campus, but I never really see it happen that much.”
Overall, Dougherty said he feels secure on campus.
“I generally feel safe. I don’t think there’s anything unsafe about [the campus] necessarily,” he said.
He said the UPD presence allows him to feel safe on campus. He also noted that he appreciates the presence of WVU’s Blue Emergency Call Boxes, or “blue lights,” on campus, although he has observed several outages.
The blue lights have faced technical issues over the past few years, but WVU Director of News Communications Shauna Johnson said only one of 30 units is out of order as of July 24 and will be restored as soon as possible.
Upon the release of the campus community safety survey, UPD proposed several solutions to the increased number of respondents who felt unsafe, one of which included working with the City of Morgantown to increase safety measures.
Morgantown City Council will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. where they are set to discuss the adoption of the expanded camping ban, prohibiting camping on residential properties, city streets, alleyways and sidewalks.