Four sex-related OUPD crime alerts this school year make students in Athens uneasy.
Kelsy Burke, a freshman studying biological sciences, carries pepper spray with her around campus to make her feel more secure, especially at night.
Melinda Nelson, a junior studying industrial engineering, doesn’t carry the spray, but has roommates who do. Nelson said she mostly feels safe on campus, but “the worst time is at night.” She tries to avoid walking alone at night, but can’t always avoid it.
“Walking by yourself (at night) makes you more wary and watch out for other people, which is not comforting,” Nelson said.
Ohio University Police Department sent out four crime alerts related to sex-related crimes this academic year, two of which were during this semester.
“There’s been an effort to create sort of a culture of bystander intervention and people, when they see predatory things going on at a bar or hear cat calling happening, will step in,” said Bekki Wyss, a senior studying English and member of F--kRapeCulture. “But I don’t think we have moved a critical mass of people to do that quite yet.”
Wyss is a former Post columnist.
Bystanders should be more active in preventing crime on campus, Wyss said.
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“I’m almost glad that somebody felt empowered enough to report it, even though I am horrified that this happened,” Wyss said. “I think people are groped all of the time … We’ve been taught to trivialize and accept behavior like that.”
Andrea Nelson, a senior studying political science, said she feels safe on campus, but keeps her eyes open.
“I’m just cautious of my surroundings and I always make sure that I’m with somebody,” Andrea said.
Her advice for students?
“Walk in groups” and “stay in well-lit areas.”
“Go with your instinct, if you feel like you shouldn’t be walking there, you probably shouldn’t be.”
Most campuses are well lit, said Matthew Colvin, a junior studying biochemistry.
“I feel pretty safe,” Colvin said, adding that he appreciates OUPD’s alerts because it makes students aware of what’s happening on campus.
To prevent sex-related crimes OUPD previously offered a self-defense class for women called Rape Aggression Defense, or RAD. But the class was cancelled because it wasn’t popular.
OUPD has several male and female officers certified as RAD instructors, OUPD officer Brandon King said.
“We need to focus the dialogue away from telling women what they can to protect themselves from being raped and instead ask the community what it is we can do to stop sexual violence collectively,” Wyss said.
— Joshua Lim contributed to this report.
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