The Cauldron

Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Feature

Adam arrived at the CSU Bookstore around 10:40 a.m. on Sept. 24 to pick up a copy of Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill. The book was for his Intro to Fiction and Drama class which was slated to start at 11 a.m. Adam would not make it class that Wednesday.

By Adam's account, he hurried to catch a spot in line and while leafing through the paperback copy of O'Neill's autobiographical play he accidentally dropped it. The book bounced forward and grazed the shoe of a young man in front of him.

Adam not thinking it was a big deal, scooped up the book and continued through the line.

After paying and grabbing his backpack from the lockers in the front of the store, Adam darted outside worrying he'd be late for class.

Outside the young man was waiting.

"I wasn't aware that I'd done anything wrong, so I didn't think twice when I exited the store," Adam said. "I walked to the curb, looked both ways, and instantly felt something smash the left side of my face. I quickly realized that I'd been assaulted when the young man started circling me, asking, 'Why didn't you say you were sorry?'"

Adam was only punched once, but it was severe enough that he underwent surgery at Parma Community Hospital and had two titanium steel plates and eight screws inserted to hold his face together.

Cleveland State University police sergeant Scott Secor said the investigation is still open.

A witness spotted the young man heading east on Euclid Avenue after the incident and a police lineup was unable to pinpoint the assailant. The young man was seen perhaps corresponding with a female CSU student in the bookstore, but a connection has not been verified.

However, bookstore security cameras caught a majority of the incident on film.

"My main concern is that nothing like this happens to another student at Cleveland State University," Adam said. "I understand that it's a campus in the middle of large metropolitan area, but I think that there are certain precautions and procedures that the school can take to ensure the safest possible environment possible. I truly feel CSU had let me down that day by not offering security to the best of their abilities."

In the following weeks after the assault Adam, a senior, dropped out of his remaining classes mainly because he doesn't feel safe on campus, and was unable to make up a majority of his class work. In the spring, Adam is transferring to Baldwin- Wallace College.

Are there others like Adam?

Valerie Hinton Hannah, judicial affairs officer in Student Life, deals with roughly 75-80 cases a year involving students.

Issues can range from threatening letters and language to professors having disruptive students to student-on-student violence.

"Nothing is formal until it is put in writing and conduct code charges are filed," Hinton Hannah said. "It has happened where students have struck other students."

While student-on-student violence is low, the young man in Adam's case is more than likely not a student at the university, and safety concerns continue to be a gripe for students who've approached The Cauldron.

In compliance with The Jeanne Cleary Act, Cleveland State provides crime statistics on a yearly basis.

From 2004-06, 24 aggravated assaults occurred within the Cleveland State campus.

Two occurred on campus and the rest on public property.

Public property includes the streets and sidewalks ranging east to west and north to south on the downtown campus, the West and East Centers and the President's residence in Shaker Heights.

Incidents reported can include people with no associate to the university.

"Adam is one of the first to have said it and made it know," Hannah Hinton said of transferring because of safety concerns. "I am not going to say others haven't."

Hannah Hinton sees a wide variety of reasons for transferring as a part of Student Life.

"We've kind of set up a minisurvey like why are you leaving. It is not scientific, but the anecdotal information is that CSU is just not a warm, fuzzy place that people feel connected too. That's not a criticism, but I have not heard that it's a safety issue."

C r i m e prevention: C SU style

"Students feel that entities have the responsibility to make them feel safe," Hinton Hannah said. "We need an army to handle everything."

The Cleveland State security budget for 2007 is roughly $2.3 million, according to director of Campus Safety Bernard L. Buckner.

In Adam's case, the CSU Bookstore is responsible for the security inside the store. Once outside, the jurisdiction is either Cleveland State police or Cleveland police.

"The bookstore is a private contractor, I am not sure at this point if the bookstore has decided to take any other [security] measures," Buckner said.

In the meantime, the university is moving forward with plans to hire 11 security officers.

So far, two have been hired and the rest of the applicants are being narrowed down for the brand new initiative.

"They will be assigned by a zone. For example, one will stay at Rhodes Tower and be familiar with staff and familiar with students," Buckner said.

Buckner also notes developing partnerships with the Cleveland Police, the Quadrangle Development Corporation, Partnership for a Safer Cleveland in which he is a trustee, and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance as progress towards a safer campus.

Students must be aware and take action

Hinton Hannah feels Adam's case is random, but recognizes the incident probably couldn't have been avoided.

"I am sympathetic to that. If you're that one you're going to be mad as hell. I understand, whatever the odds are. If it's 97 percent it won't happen, but if you're in that three percent, you're mad and it's legitimate. I think at the same time, it's the randomness of the situation that can not be controlled."

Hinton Hannah offers up the low traffic area between the Music & Communication Building and the Law Library as an example of being aware of possible dangerous surroundings.

"Someone could be in a classroom and pull you in. I've come around there at one in the afternoon and there is no one coming back from Urban [Affairs Building]. There is a ladies room there and I won't use it."

Incidents can happen anywhere, but students must take action and responsibility, according to Hinton Hannah.

"It doesn't have to be spaces in the corner or in the dark that are tucked away," Hinton Hannah said. "And we don't have a way to man it, and what we need to do and I advocate is the students can host forums on how to be safe or what you need to do to be safe."

Forums or safety tip education programs can be associated with the Cleveland State police like a Nov. 14 event at 4:30 p.m. in UC1 geared for international students.

But another key according to Hinton Hannah is acting on the impulse that someone seems suspicious. Or as Buckner says, "See something, say something."

According to police log reports from Sept. 23 to Sept. 29, the week of Adam's assault, five reports involved suspicious behavior, four criminal trespass warnings were issued and one criminal trespass citation was handed out.

At a glance, criminal trespass warnings appear regularly on the weekly log reports.

"The operative word is suspicious," according to Hinton Hannah. "If someone made a call and says this person looks suspicious [walking in the MC], our security personnel can look around the building and see if everything is okay. Now if we say this person is trying to open doors, suspicion becomes a behavior… So, the university can take steps to provide a safe environment by responding to notices and information." Finding the delicate balance is also important.

Cleveland State's buildings are open to the public including the library.

"We can't just arrest people because they look weird, they sound weird and they do things we think are weird," Hinton Hannah said.

For more information on police policies and statistics visit csuohio. edu/police. For a safety escort on campus call 687-2020. Safety escorts are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

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Speak Your Mind

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The Cauldron asked students and employees of CSU about where they feel unsafe and compiled places where you probably shouldn't be traveling alone. The majority of those asked said they prefer traveling around campus with another student or in groups.

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Places You Shouldn't Travel Alone

Z Lot. CSU had 290 reported cases of motor vehicle theft from 2004-06. Consensus is that Z Lot located behind Viking Hall and across from the Wolstein Center is an easy target. According to director of Campus Safety Bernard L. Buckner, the lot will be gone in Jan. or Feb of 2008 to make room for a RTA parking garage. Until then, police have increased security at the location.

Chester Avenue at night. The recreation center glows at night, but the trot down to East 18th Street is not well lit. Consensus is that either side of the street is not fun to walk down when the sun goes down.

Lower levels of all buildings. Basements usually get a bad rap, as do the parking garages. The main reason is not a lot of traffic flow.

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