Today’s online CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION covers the murder of a chemistry graduate student near the campus of the University of Chicago, and its coverage worth reading. I have pasted the article below, along with some of the “comments” appended to it. The student had just defended his dissertation.
Two things about this story strike me as relevant to EMU: First, it demonstrates, contrary to what some around here have claimed, that controversies over university policy communications and their timing are not unknown elsewhere. Second, the article shows that U of Chicago police patrol areas that are near, but not on, the campus itself, and that this is regarded as a proper safety measure for Chicago students. At EMU, there have been many suggestions that DPS patrol nearby areas – including most importantly the Emment Street corridor, which is the heart of the student off campus residential district, and which is one block from campus, and which appears to have rising crime problems. But EMU’s DPS and higher up officials have dodged that issue, regardless of student safety concerns; EMU officials have even, to date, usually declined to report crimes in those nearby ‘public’ areas. Excluding such areas may in itself be contrary to the Clery Act, but there is some grey discretionary areas there. One now departed Welch Hall official promised one community leader a year or two ago that DPS would begin patrolling the Emment Street area, but then later claimed that he just meant that DPS would “drive” thru the Cross Street area, which no doubt DPS was already doing. What is most clear, of course, is that the safety of our students and the entire EMU community should be the top priority. Drawing the lines narrowly does not promote that priority. As the police at the University of Chicago realize. The new DPS station should be built on Emment Street, since by putting DPS right in the middle of an area that needs regular policing, of an intensive sort, we’d help make the campus and our students living in that district much safer. This idea would require real community policing and leadership, and a committment from the Eastern administration to the Ypsilanti community that’s real, not merely rhetorical. From the CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION – the paper all EMUTalk readers should get: November 20, 2007
Killing of Graduate Student Puts U. of Chicago on Edge
The University of Chicago is on edge over an apparent crime spree early Monday morning that was capped by the shooting death of a chemistry graduate student from Senegal who had just recently defended his dissertation, according to today’s Chicago Tribune. The spree, which consisted of three incidents over a one-hour period, took place off campus, but it drew complaints from students and others about the nine hours that passed before the university notified students about what had happened. The complaints resembled criticism of how Virginia Tech handled the shootings on its campus last April. A University of Chicago official attributed the delay to the importance of having accurate information before disseminating it.
—Andrew MytelkaPosted on Tuesday November 20, 2007 | Permalink | Comment:
- The student was killed on the south part of campus that is being extended. It’s a block from the new U of C dorm, two blocks from the law school and a current undergraduate dorm not to mention the SSA school.— Bob Nov 20, 12:10 PM #
- I lived in that “current undergraduate dorm” from 1996 until 1998. We were told not to go in the back yard alone. No, we should nanny students but it is also the university’s responsibility to acknowledge security and safety concerns.— K. Nov 20, 03:40 PM #
- Correction: No, we should NOT nanny students but it is also the university’s responsibility to acknowledge security and safety concerns.— K. Nov 20, 03:41 PM #
- Many campuses now do have instant-alert systems in place using students’ and staff’s cell phones. This kind of thing is not unusual around urban universities, and to avoid further damage, it makes sense for the university to let others know of a prior violent incident.— neniaf Nov 20, 03:45 PM #
- Where exactly did this occur? When I was at Chicago, the UC police did not patrol south of 60th. If the student was killed outside the area patrolled by the campus police, this is really a mute point.— D Nov 20, 03:55 PM #
- Moot point. The administration was mute.— c’mon Nov 20, 04:03 PM #
- to D: Obviously this is not a mute point, because we are talking about it. I hope that you didn’t study law at Chicago, where you would have learned about moot points.— pedant Nov 20, 04:04 PM
- It occurred in the 6100 block of Ellis. The campus patrol area has indeed been expanded in recent years. Per the UChicago safety information site: “The University Police Department (UCPD) operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, on campus and throughout the Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and Woodlawn neighborhoods. They patrol north to 39th Street, south to 64th Street, east to Lake Shore Drive, and west to Cottage Grove Avenue.”
Thanks Sitedad for breaking this into a “read more” format. When i posed it i could not find the Read More button on Word Press! They changed its location and my skills are not keeping up to date.
Some very good points were brought up…I do agree that DPS maybe should have more freedom to patrol areas of known EMU students….at the same time, living off campus in the city and living in Belleville, or another city are basically the same thing. Campus police are for campus. I don’t think many would be opposed, but do we really want EMU’s police tied up with non students as well? Sticky point, plus that would infringe on the YPD jurisdiction and I bet things could get sticky if there is ever a question as to who has jurisdiction.
The biggest problem with this is the size of EMU DPS. There aren’t enough officers to protect campus let alone police surrounding areas. Based on what I’ve seen as far as the number of officers on a given shift, there may be 2 or 3 officers per shift that are road officers and not Area police officers, detectives, or non patroling officers. DPS would need to first fill their vacant positions and then add about 10 more officers to police areas of the city and campus properly. From the little research I’ve done, EMU is on the very low end of student to officer ratio. That needs improving, especially given the recent crime uprise on campus.
As for the location of the new station…I really think that needs to be highly visible and ON campus. But we really havn’t heard too much about this new station except that it was in the budget…I’d really love to see an update on location, time before it is finished, and see something official showing that this will indeed happen. I just have a bad feeling that it may get pushed aside. I’d also love to know if there are any plans for updating the out of date equipment and cars that these officers have available to them.
Mom2one, you make some good points, and I for one in all in favor of adequate staffing for vital services, such as DPS.
Woe is the shame that EMU leaders have for ages failed to seriously advocate for adequate public safety on campus!
As for your other points – well, I believe that if the Chicago police dept. and the U of Chicago police forces can work out the details
of such patrols, it’d be a snap for EMU & YPD to do the same here. The key thing, however, is that EMU officials have to start treating the question of student safety in a comprehensive way, instead of pigeon holing it into separate compartments. My student who is beaten up on Emment street – as happened recently – is just as much a victim of crime as one beaten up on campus, and his injuries are just as much an issue for the university community, even if that’s not acknowledged.
And I disagree about your claim that living off campus but near campus is the same as living in Belleville: The Clery Act requires universities to be accountable for reporting crimes in areas near their campuses, and lots of universities in cities do provide lots of police protection to non campus areas that adjoin the campus. Plus, most importantly, the EMU community does not have sharp borders that end at the sidewalk on the north side of Cross Street.
Let’s set some goals for what real safety and security mean for the EMU community, reflecting the real life of our community, and take appropriate steps. So far, we’re not doing so. The major problem for adequate policing at EMU is the bad habits within DPS and the administration more broadly born of decades of mismanagement and priorities that stressed secrecy over accountability.
I am totally confident that the Ypsilanti police are eager for constructive and collaborative relations with EMU’s DPS.
As for the new police station for DPS — I am for it. I am against all the decisions pertaining to it being made by the same small circles of insiders who usually run things. I say this not as criticism of those officials, but merely as recognition that their decisions have often been ill advised and narrow minded. No cite for DPS would be more “visible” than one on Emment or, better yet, going from Cross St thru to Emment, replacing the empty buildings in the middle of the block that La Fiesta is in. DPS could be an anchor for those blocks’ needed redevelopment and an anchor for public safety as well.
But that’s a vision. Only with a vision can EMU prosper.
The University of Chicago is a school that knows how to protection its reputation, by getting all the facts out ASAP even when it’s bad news. An EMU colleague who is an alum of Chicago got this email, copied below, from the University of Chicago’s president. I thank the colleague who sent to to me and gave permission to copy it here.
To: University of Chicago Alumni
From: President Robert J. Zimmer
Subject: Campus Tragedy
You may have seen news reports about the tragic killing of one of our
graduate students on November 19. Amadou Cisse, an international
student completing his Ph.D. degree in chemistry, was shot and killed
at 1:26 a.m. Monday in the street near 6120 S. Ellis Ave. We are
saddened and outraged by this terrible event, and our hearts go out to
the student’s family, friends, colleagues and neighbors.
Cisse had successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on November
1, and was scheduled to receive his degree at Convocation on December
7. The University will award his degree posthumously. A memorial
service is being planned by his University colleagues and friends.
The University of Chicago Police and Chicago Police Department are
working together to aggressively investigate this crime. The
University has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of those responsible.
In addition to the fatal shooting, there were two other incidents on
or near campus during the same time period. At 12:33 a.m. at 6045
Woodlawn, a man was chased by an individual who fired a shot in his
direction. At 1:15 a.m., two women were robbed at 924 E. 57th St. by
an individual who said he had a weapon. Police are investigating
whether or not these incidents are related.
I want to let you know of some immediate as well as sustained actions
the University will take to improve safety in and around campus.
First, we have increased police patrols on and around campus. In the
past few years we have expanded police patrols between the hours of 4
p.m. and midnight when most crimes occur. That approach has been
successful in reducing crime. In the wake of Monday’s shooting we have
taken the further steps of expanding by another 50 percent the number
of University police car patrols between 4 p.m. and midnight and
doubling the police car presence after midnight around campus. We also
have supplemented the squad-car based patrols with additional officers
on bicycles. Each of these steps will be maintained indefinitely.
Second, we have added two additional vans to SafeRide, our late-night
van service, and expect to make additional improvements to that
service as soon as we can determine – with the input of our campus
community – what changes would be most effective. The further changes
being anticipated include additional vans as well as changes to
routes, policies, and other operational aspects of the program to
better meet the needs of the University community.
Third, until the opening next spring of our new police headquarters
now under construction at 61st and Drexel Avenue, we will set up a
visible police substation on the south campus.
At the same time that we take these immediate measures, we will begin
a comprehensive review of campus safety and security, seeking advice
from both security experts as well as from campus and community
members. Among improvements we expect to consider is the installation
of additional security cameras on and around the campus.
Finally, let me assure you that we will work to improve campus safety
in an ongoing and deliberate way. We take seriously our responsibility
for providing a safe environment for our community and welcome your
thoughts about additional areas that need attention.
We will continue to post updates to our webpage at
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/071119.safety.msg.shtml.
Mark I agree in principal that EMU does owe the very close but off campus students some degree of protection and I am pretty sure that if/when YPD needs assitance with near campus incidents, DPS does respond if they have the personell available to without leaving campus unprotected. They do patrol somewhat off the main campus because they have to also patrol the college of business and the stadium area. In addition I am pretty sure that back in my undergrad days I saw some officers keeping the peace at some of the student frequented bars that are off campus. If they see a crime in progress on their route to any of those places I highly doubt they would fail to respond.
I guess I don’t understand why you consider a student beaten up off campus while walking to or from class a campus issue but not a student carjacked while driving to class? Yes your student was a victim of a crime but why does it HAVE to be DPS taking his report and investigating the crime and not YPD?
Also, Yes the area you suggested for the new station is very visible to people DRIVING to campus, but not so much for those who live on or just off campus. It’s current location is easily accessable for both. Since the chief responsibility of the department is to campus then I just firmly believe that the building needs to be on campus. Accessible to both drivers and on campus walkers (without having to venture off campus).
I will say that I am impressed with the message sent by Univ. of Chicago. I am impressed at the reward $$ that they are offering and at the amount of up front info. that they are putting out. I wonder though if those 2 possibly related incidents would have been reported in the same way if the other incident had not happened? I do hope though that EMU will take note of that and see how informative they can be without causing a panic.
You make good points Mark:
You wrote,
“As for the new police station for DPS — I am for it. I am against all the decisions pertaining to it being made by the same small circles of insiders who usually run things”
I agree. Even if the officials were Albert Einstein + Mother Thereasa rolled into one… I have been an advocate for having 90+% of all meetings on this subject or other subjects being open doors meetings.
If space is an issue then just have a way for people to learn what decisions are being made, voice their concerns through an Electronic Form, submit that form, and perhaps people’s feedback can influence things?
EMU has exclusive closed door meetings. Just allowing a Student Government official into a meeting isn’t enough either. Any form of restriction is still restriction.
If Hiring/Firing, personnel issues are discussed at a meeting then that meeting should be closed. Otherwise, open it to the floor in whatever way is reasonable.
You guys need to get your geography staight. I don’t think that EMU is contemplating a new police building. They may be at U of C. Anyway, EMMENT ST. is in Chicago and is not to be confused with Emmet St. in Ypsilanti. ” At EMU, there have been many suggestions that DPS patrol nearby areas – including most importantly the Emment Street corridor, which is the heart of the student off campus residential district, and which is one block from campus, and which appears to have rising crime problems. “
Alum, my spelling is notorious and if i misspelled the name of the street that’s one block south of Cross here in Ypsi, I regret
it very much. But i do know the street, and a student of mine was beaten up there recently.
As for the DPS getting a new station — I first heard of it from the interim chief of DPS, and he very much seemed to be talking about a new building.
And community advocates have proposed, vainly, for ages that DPS take on a real role in the student negibhorhood in that street just south of Cross.
Mark,
THere is definitly an Emment St. near U of C. That’s why I bring this up. It’s very confusing if you know some of the street names in Chicago.