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NEWS
0CT. 25, 2011
Campus Police
UCO REPORT FINDS BURGLARIES ON THE RISE By Josh Wallace / Contributing Writer Each year UCO publishes the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which contains statistics on incidents reported over the past three years. While many types of crime saw a dip in reported occurrence, burglaries were up across campus in the past year. For 2010, 21 incidents of burglary were reported, compared to 15 in each of the previous two years. According to Jeffery Harp, chief of Police, Safety and Transportation Services, the number of burglaries is actually quite low when compared to other universities. He said numbers do not always paint a clear picture of what might be occurring on campus. “We could have a couple of 16-year-olds go through a parking lot and break into 15 cars in the space of 15 minutes and steal stuff out of the cars. Our annual statistics skyrocket, be-
cause of two people doing 15 minutes of activity,” Harp said. Harp feels as though the numbers are quite low, and our campus is very safe. “We wish the number was zero. Burglaries are tough to prevent, we can’t control it,” he said. “We can just hope the nature of our community will continue to keep this number no higher than it is and hopefully lower than it is.” As for a motive for the crimes, Harp believes individuals are either taking property to later sell or simply to use for themselves. The most frequent crime on campus, larceny, was quite high last year, with 132 reported instances. “Larceny is the most preventable crime, I would guess 99 percent or more [cases] are completely prevent-
able,” Harp said. Tips for preventing larceny are simple: students should watch their belongings at all times. Harp said that if you have to leave to use the restroom, or run across the hall to another room, ask someone you know to watch your belongings or simply take them with you. Harp calls it a crime of opportunity. “Someone is going to create an opportunity, somebody’s going to have something that somebody else wants, and they’re going to take it from them one way or another,” he said. For 2010, motor vehicle theft had one reported incident. Harp believes vehicle theft is a crime low in occurrence these days, at least on this campus. “Motor vehicle theft in general is down, people don’t steal cars as often as they used to,” he said. “People who are going to steal a car, by and large are not going to come to UCO.” Sexual offenses were also relatively low
for 2010, with two reported incidents. The number may seem low, but Harp believes not all sexually related offenses are reported, due in part to the fact that the nature of the crime might bring about guilt or fear on the part of the victim. “Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes, the vast majority of sexual assaults are acquaintance situations,” he said. He said that statistically, most of these offenses are committed by individuals that the victims know, and that incidents of strangers committing sexual assault are rare on campus. “There are systems in Housing that create this sense of community: you know your roommate and the other person across the hall, there’s lots of passive surveillance involved in information sharing,” he said. “So, that stranger situation is a rarity. I think we’ve had one in the past 10 years that I’m aware of.” Overall, Harp wants students to know that UCO is a safe campus of more than 17,000 students, and Campus Police will work to keep it that way. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the Rape Crisis Center at (405) 9437273, Campus Police at (405) 9742345, or the UCO Student Counseling Center at (405) 974-2215 for help.
Photo by Sacha Swift, The Vista
Jazz Lab
For non-emergency police assistance or to report a crime, contact the UCO Police Services at (405) 974-2345 or police@uco.edu.
DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN RAISING FUNDS WITH ROCK By Brittany Dalton / Copy Editor On Wednesday night, the Jazz Lab will host five bands for the fourth-annual Paper Jam. The concert, which will feature five bands this year, is coordinated by the Department of Design to raise funding. InkTank Studios, one of three semi-professional design studios within the department, is coordinating the event. The studio gives participating students the opportunity to work with ‘real-world’ clients outside of campus. Dr. Rukmini Ravikumar, chair of the department of design, said the Paper Jam is coordinated in large part by the students, with little supervision from faculty members. The money raised by the Paper Jam, she said, will be allocated toward scholarships for students within the department. “[The event] is very well-received each year,” Ravikumar said. “It is the kind of event you would go to even if it weren’t raising
money for a cause. It has broad audience appeal.” Ravikumar said she believes the studentled coordination of the event could be another reason it appeals so readily to students. The five bands performing will be O Fidelis, FOS, People People, Good Morning Grizzly, and The Grown Ups. “I attended UCO [in 2008] and met some really cool people in the art and design departments,” Tyler Slemp, lead singer of the Tulsa-based Good Morning Grizzly, said. “It’s important to me, as well as the other band members, to be a part of this fundraising event because we all know what it’s like to be struggling artists.” Slemp, an English education major during his time at UCO, enjoys art and can deeply relate to fellow artists in their respective crafts. He said this understanding, as well as his former attendance at the university, played a large part in his eagerness to participate. Ultimately, though, he said he hopes to help raise
money in the event. “It’s a good cause, and we’re glad to be a part of it,” he said. The event is open to students, faculty and the general public. Tickets can be purchased for $5 in the Department of Design office, but can also be purchased at the door on the day of the event. While the event is slated to begin at 7 p.m., doors will open a half hour before.
What? The Fourth Annual Paper Jam When? Wednesday, Oct. 26 @ 7 p.m. Where?: The UCO Jazz Lab How Much? Tickets are $5