The Tripod

On the night of Thursday, March 27, the safety issues on Trinity College's campus reached a disturbing and tragic height - one of our fellow students was sexually assaulted. This is absolutely unacceptable and, unfortunately, not out of the ordinary. One Tripod staff member waited on Vernon Street, on the same night of the sexual assault, for the shuttle home to Crescent Street for almost an hour, yet the shuttle never ventured down Vernon Street past Vernon Social Center during that hour. Instead, the far-too-small vans stopped repeatedly at the west end of Vernon, near Alpha Delta Chi (AD) and St. Anthony Hall, filled up, turned around, and left.

On a campus of this size, with such a large number of people congregating on one street on weekends, a van that can only legally hold six passengers is simply unacceptable. This shuttle service replaced the popular "drunk bus," which was large enough to accommodate upwards of 30 people. Calling the Campus Safety Office yields only frustration, as another staff member recalls being told that they could not send a car to drive his friend home because they were dealing with a noise complaint. The inarguable dangers that one faces walking alone at night are far more pressing than Campus Safety breaking up a party in a dorm.

Hartford, Conn., as supported by the countless Campus Safety advisories the student body receives, is not the safest of locations. While there are safety measures that students can (and do) take to better ensure their safety, these precautions can only go so far. Yes, students can walk in groups and can make an effort to get back to their dorms earlier in the evening. Yet, there are many times, such as when students are in the library studying, or in the Tripod office late on Monday nights, when this is simply not feasible. We should not hesitate to feel entitled to safety. For the hundreds of thousands of dollars we invest in our Trinity careers, something as basic as feeling safe when walking across the LSC Quad should be a given, not something that the student body should be left to argue for while the administration simply adds another Campus Safety car on the Lower Long Walk.

A staff member, when having a phone conversation on Thursday night about the unacceptable inefficiency of the shuttle with a Campus Safety officer, asked what she could do to rectify this problem. Unaware of the young woman's position on the Tripod, the officer told her to contact Director of Campus Safety Chris Lyons or write an article in the Tripod. Having already pursued both options on multiple occassions, the young woman said she had yet to realize concrete reform. She informed the officer that she had to return home, having already waited an hour, and that if anything were to happen, he would be at fault. His response? "Okay."

Campus Safety's interaction with students should not be concentrated in handing out parking tickets or breaking up parties. Students should feel safe when they think of Campus Safety, yet, as the relationship currently stands, students find the department ineffective and, frankly, obnoxious. Tragedy and violence are unfortunate facts of life. However, this is by no means an excuse to neglect any potential forms of prevention. Campus Safety is Trinity's best resource for violence prevention, but it is underfunded, understaffed, and unable to provide protection to Trinity's students. Safety is not something that students should have to fight for; it is an irrefutable right that each and every student deserves.

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