Author: Gerry Maravilla
On Monday, April 14, Director of Campus Safety Hollis Nieto sent an announcement through the Oxy Digest informing students that a resident of Stearns Hall had been assaulted at 4:15 a.m., on Sunday, April 13. According to Nieto, the attack took place just outside the south entrance of the hall, near the Emmons medical office. The assailant was only identified as a white male wearing a dark hoodie. The report also stated that, “The student suffered minor injuries. The incident is under investigation, but we have few details thus far.”
A second, separate e-mail was sent out to students on Wednesday, April 16 reporting that the same student had been physically assaulted. This time the incident occurred just outside her room in Stearns. Students were told that Campus Safety and LAPD responded to the scene where the student was found with minor injuries. The e-mail closed with the statement, “To date, we have been unable to find any witnesses to either incident and have no evidence that the student was actually attacked by an assailant,” leading to much speculation and rumor among students.
In order to address the growing concerns of the student body, Dean of Students Barbara Avery sent another e-mail informing students of a Campus Safety discussion in which Avery, Nieto, Director of Residence Life and Housing Services Kecia Baker and Associate Dean of Students Jonathan O’Brien would respond to questions posed by the Occidental community.
The meeting took place at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, in the Stearns first floor common room. Several students, as well as the Stearns RAs and HC were present at the discussion. Baker began the meeting by saying, “We will do our best to answer all questions you may have, but we will not be able to answer all of them due to issues of confidentiality and privacy.”
Students demanded to know more information in response to the attack and, specifically, the last line of Nieto’s campus wide e-mail. Nieto responded, stating, “The last sentence of the e-mail wished to present the facts as we [Campus Safety] know them,” she said. “No witnesses have come forward and we are left with very little information.” Nieto also apologized for not sending the information out to students sooner.
Although Nieto did state there was no evidence of a stabbing, the student did have scars that could have possible been caused by a box cutter like device or a razor blade. “There are wounds,” she said. “Any more details would be medical information that I cannot give you.”
Baker informed students she had spent the entirety of the night with the victim until 6:30 a.m., and unfortunately no new facts had been revealed. “I can tell you that the victim is now in a safe place,” Baker said.
Students inquired about LAPD’s involvement with the incident and what both Campus Safety and local law enforcement were doing to protect students. Nieto stated that LAPD would be increasing their patrols on campus and the surrounding area for the next month, but that LAPD would not be able to do very much in terms of finding the assailant because, “They are as stumped and frustrated as we are. There is no evidence.”
Nieto discussed the measures taken by Campus Safety to protect students. Unlike other incidents, “We do not have a full description of the assailant,” Avery said. Nieto added, “Since the first incident we have increased patrols around the campus, but we do not have the ability to station officers in every residence hall,” she said. “If we had more facts, we would have a better plan.”
The panel advised students that the best course of action was to take a proactive stance. Students were told not to allow strangers into residence halls and to call Campus Safety if they see anything suspicious. Students were also advised not to walk alone in the evenings and to utilize Oxy’s few well-lit areas when traveling around campus. “This campus is in dire need of more lights,” Avery said. “Walking alone around campus is a scary experience.”
Nieto also informed students of security updates that the administration hopes to implement in the near future. According to Nieto, newly renovated halls like Wylie, Erdman and Bell-Young will all utilize the same key card and camera surveillance system as Rangeview. This is part of a long-term plan to install card systems and cameras in every residence hall.
In the case of a serious threat or emergency, Nieto spoke about a plan to improve campus- wide alerts. “It would be a two phase system,” Nieto said. “In a serious case, an alarm would alert the campus population. The other involves sending an e-mail, voice mail, or text message to the students.” In order for Campus Safety to send alerts via e-mail or text messages, Nieto explained that when students go through Clearance, they would have the option of submitting up to three different phone numbers that Campus Safety would be able to reach them at.
O’Brien recently returned from a conference in Illinois where representatives from colleges across the country met to discuss safety and security on college campuses. Along with card keys, electronic alerts, better lighting, and an increase in camera surveillance, O’Brien mentioned the possibility of implementing an anonymous tip-line where students could call in to report suspicious behavior. “There must be proactive measures taken by the students and staff,” O’Brien said. “We cannot solely depend upon electronic alerts.”
Baker echoed O’Brien’s warning. “It is important that Oxy has a multi-layer approach to deal with serious issues,” she said. “No one system can solve every problem.”
Avery, Nieto, Baker, and O’Brien each spoke about the importance of safety and security for the entire campus. “Every college has been on high alert since Virginia Tech,” Avery said. “We should have gotten the information out to the campus sooner.”
Some students in attendance found the meeting necessary and helpful. “I think it’s great they held a meeting to try and clear up any confusion,” Sergio Arteaga (senior) said. “However, Campus Safety could have been more thoughtful and tactful with the words that they used in the campus wide e-mail.”
“Numerous rumors were started as a result of that e-mail,” Nick Velkavrh (senior) added. “The administration should take preemptive action in dispelling them before they spread.”
Christina Llosa (senior) was disappointed with the administration and the way they handled the situation. “The Oxy administration is often very hush-hush when it comes to letting students know about big issues on campus,” she said. “The e-mail they sent needed to go out sooner.”
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