According to College Transitions, the overall safety rank of Ohio University-Main Campus is 445th of hundreds of surveyed colleges. The University of Cincinnati-Main Campus' overall safety rank is considered less safe, at 688, while the University of Toledo's overall safety rank is 564. The overall rankings consider off-campus and on-campus safety, and the total number of colleges compile to 930, with The Ohio State University-Main Campus securing that 930th, or least safe, spot.
Many components go into ensuring college students' safety, especially for women. That can include the city surrounding the campus and who constitutes the local population.
Reflected in its national ranking, OU has been deemed a relatively safe campus for students. Athens has long been dubbed a "college town," and OU prides itself on providing students the resources they need to feel safe, including launching the Bobcat Safe App in 2019.
Previously, the university had implemented emergency phones marked with blue lights around campus, but in 2020 a presentation to Student Senate by OU's chief facilities officer proposed phasing out the lights in favor of the app. A previous Post article from 2018 reported that blue light poles were most commonly used for pranks rather than assisting in emergency situations.
Jocelyn Schuckman, a sophomore studying early childhood education, has had a relatively good experience at OU in terms of safety. She gave the campus a perfect score on a scale of her comfortability levels.
"I would say during the day, a 10, during the night, probably a nine just because it's dark and everything, but I feel pretty safe," Schuckman said.
When choosing a college to attend, safety was a big factor to Schuckman, and she said she appreciated how the city of Athens aided the atmosphere.
"I think that's a reason why OU stuck out so much to me because I just love the small town vibes," Schuckman said. "A big city intimidates me a little bit … I like the quietness of a small town."
Schuckman believes those positive safety qualities can also be attributed to the university's effort to report crimes.
"I think that at every school ... there are some things that go unnoticed and I think that's just unfortunately how it is, but I think that OU is more diligent on that and focuses on more of the little things for sure," Schuckman said.
Unfortunately, not all of Shuckman's experiences in a college environment have been positive. Originally from the Cincinnati area, she has been to the University of Cincinnati, or UC, campus a fair amount and said she has witnessed a striking difference between an urban college and a more rural college like OU.
"I've been to UC a decent amount… safeness level, I would say a four or something," Schuckman said. "Whether it's a person walking or somebody in a car, I feel like one wrong turn and I could walk into a horrible situation."
Schuckman also mentioned that she feels unsafe in the presence of weapons at and around the UC campus. She said she knew a mutual friend from high school who was stabbed on campus and ended up dying.
Katerina Getgey, a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati, has a different view of the UC campus: she finds it quite safe and is not deterred by its poor reputation. She ranked her safety level as an eight during the daytime and seven at night.
"I feel that it's well-lit, and actually on campus specifically, I feel like it's mostly people from the school, which I feel like makes it a little bit less freaky than if it was the general public," Getgey said.
Being familiar with the location of the campus, Getgey said the safety levels did not play a significant role in her decision to attend the university.
"It was not really something I thought about … it wasn't really a factor in my decision," Getgey said.
Getgey is aware of the facade associated with the campus and some of the stories from the Clifton area.
"I feel like there is merit to that because off-campus, it's a little bit more wild," Getgey said. "I think (concern) is valid, but I think as long as you know where that is and what to look for, it can be somewhat easily avoided."
Often, urban colleges are deemed more "unsafe" by the population due to the high crime levels associated with cities. Despite attending an urban college, Kaylee George, a senior at the University of Toledo, or UT, feels safe as well. Her scale of comfortability was also very high during the day.
"Probably like a nine — I feel super safe on campus during the day," George said. "I definitely would never walk campus alone at night. I would say definitely on the other end of the spectrum, probably like a two or a three."
George likes the privacy the UT campus provides, but she has had incidents where cars have approached her, offering to give her rides home despite declining multiple times.
"It's really different because UT is an isolated campus, so it's not in the middle of town," George said. "There are no roads — there are campus streets that go through it but not real traffic. That always made me really uncomfortable on Ohio State's and OU's campus, that it felt like there were just normal people driving around."
Though a couple of years ago, George remembers past incidents when walking home alone.
"When I was young, I was a freshman when this happened, there was a reputation for muggings by the library on campus, so I had a friend that got mugged on campus," George said. "I was definitely stressed to leave the library by myself."
Having been to OU multiple times, George's opinions differ from that of Shuckman's. She said the active nightlife in Athens deters her, especially knowing there are adult strangers at bars, which makes her nervous. Due to the lack of bars around the UT campus, the nightlife is usually restricted to parties hosted by Greek life.
"I think fraternity parties are a lot bigger here because there's not as many bars," George said. "Since we have such a smaller Greek life, it kind of feels like you always know somebody in all the chapters. The frats don't let other guys in, which honestly sometimes feels so much safer. There is kind of a good vibe there where you know everybody there is a college student."
Safety looks different for everyone, and what might work for one person might not work for another. When looking for a college to attend, it is important to consider all the factors that go into living in a particular environment, especially safety.
