The Student Senate’s Residence Life Commission is working with Ohio University to ensure student safety and well-being in residence halls.
Ohio University Police Department arrived at Ewing House, located on South Green, at 6:31 p.m. Nov. 4 in response to a female student reporting seeing a male with a knife inside her dorm room.
According to the police report, the female student had left her door open while using the restroom and the man was inside her room when she returned.
OUPD reported having thoroughly searched the area but were unable to locate any suspects that matched the description provided by the female student.
A police report was filed and students were notified about an incident in Ewing House around 8 p.m.
Mae Hu, a senior studying finance and political science, is the Residence Life Commissioner in Student Senate. She said although she lives in a sorority house off campus, many of her housemates felt uneasy about the incident at Ewing.
“People weren't sure if they were even going to be able to leave the house,” Hu said. “There was a lot of uncertainty, and people didn't feel safe that night.”
Hu said she also felt it was unjust that OUPD could not find the suspect that induced fear on campus, and more should have been done to prevent an incident like this from happening.
To combat this injustice, Hu is using her position as Residence Life Commissioner to work with the university and students to increase safety within residence halls.
University spokesperson Alex Semancik said currently OU offers several resources for students to support safety and well-being on campus.
The university provides students with a full-service police agency that works to handle all crimes and dangerous behavior on campus. Semancik said students are encouraged to call 911 or OUPD directly if they witness any suspicious activity.
Some safety measures Hu is working with the university to improve involve the security cameras located inside every residence hall.
Hu said she recently met with OU Housing and Residence Life and learned that all security cameras are high resolution and placed in a way meant to identify perpetrators.
“(The cameras) are strategically placed, but there should be a more ideal way if these perpetrators aren't getting caught,” Hu said.
After her meeting, Hu said she was redirected to OUPD Captain Tim Ryan to focus on the security camera issue and alternative solutions.
Along with working with the university and OUPD, Hu has also talked to students to hear their perspectives on campus safety. She said many agreed security camera placement would be a good start to amending safety issues within residence halls.
“In addition to that, people were suggesting increased police around the residential greens, because what I figured out through my meeting with Housing and Residence Life is that these types of incidents occur on all of the greens,” Hu said.
With incidents such as the one in Ewing House, the university also offers resources to help students process and manage the stress that comes with these difficult situations.
“OHIO offers a wide range of on- and off-campus well-being and counseling support options, including 24/7 emergency and crisis services support when needed,” Semancik said.
There is no timeline on when Hu’s ideas will be implemented campus-wide, but in the meantime, she and the Residence Life Commission are trying to market safety practices to students so they can protect themselves.
“We want to let students know the ways that they themselves can make themselves safe, but given that's not enough on its own right, and so it's a combination of student behavior and advocating for different policies,” Hu said.
Semancik said OU also encourages students to protect themselves by keeping their doors and windows locked at all times, even if they are only leaving for a short period.
“No one should feel unsafe in their dorm room, and though the majority of people feel safe, there's always room for improvement,” Hu said.
