Campus safety is top subject for students, lawmakers

Students from VCU and other Virginia universities are teaming up with legislators to push for new laws to make campuses safer.

Virginia21, a non-partisan student action group, held a press conference with key lawmakers last week to unveil the Protect Virginia Students plan. The package of legislation, pending before the General Assembly, would raise standards for campus police departments and provide grants for college communities to address crime.

Emad Maghsoudi, vice chairman of the Student Senate, was one of several VCU students who attended the press conference. He said the plan is a crucial step toward creating a safer environment.

“If we want to create a more secure campus, we have to change the culture that people perceive,” Maghsoudi said.

He said students also need to utilize the security readily available.

Student Government Association President Eddie O’Leary agreed and said students should take personal responsibility and make good choices.

“We have one of the best police departments in the state,” O’Leary said. “I’ve never felt particularly unsafe.”

But O’Leary also noted there are issues for campus police to address – notably student-on-student larceny.

In the past year, VCU has struggled with security issues. Last fall, the university was thrust into national limelight when freshman Taylor Behl was missing for nearly a month and then found dead. Before that, a Kuwaiti exchange student was abducted, and most recently, a female student was assaulted in a campus bathroom. In light of such incidents, security has been on the minds of students and their parents.

“No parent should lay awake at night wondering if their child is safe at college. This legislation is an essential step towards ensuring our state colleges are safe and secure environments for everyone,” O’Leary said.

The three-part Protect Virginia Students plan would:

 Create a campus law enforcement center within the state’s Department of Criminal Justice Services. The center would set hiring and training standards for campus police, help them collect and share information and provide expert advice.

 Require institutions of higher education to report crime statistics and to make safety and security a high priority.

 Establish grants that colleges and universities can apply for and use toward security equipment. Legislators and law enforcement officials believe such grants would help schools address different needs.

Several bills before the General Assembly make up the plan. The bills are sponsored by Delegate Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News; Sen. Ken Stolle, R-Virginia Beach; and Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax.

Hamilton emphasized the importance of accountability and law enforcement standards at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning.

“I think parents, when they send their children off to college, they have an expectation that there’s going to be an element of safety and security,” he said.

Hamilton was approached by Virginia21 two years ago about campus security. Since then, the Virginia Crime Commission has studied the issue and found that campus police have no statewide standard for hiring, training or victim response.

Hamilton, who has served in the House since 1988, said this is the first time he can remember that legislators are addressing campus safety and security.