University officials: Awareness key to safety
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By Brian Sharp
Staff Reporter
*
There’s a fine line between aware
ness, preparedness and fear.
That’s how Judith Kriss, director
of the Women’s Center at the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, describes
the issue of safety.
Awareness of one’s surroundings
can create safety, she said, fear will
not.
“That split second that we might
have the chance to run, to scream, to
get ourselves out of the most critical
point — awareness will give us that
opportunity,” she said.
In a 1988 national study, UNL was
found to be the safest campus when it
came to violent crime, UNL Police
Cpl. Larry Kalkowski said.
In fact, a study cited in a 1990
Lincoln Journal article reported that
UNL was the only university of those
studied with no reports of violent
crimes.
Kalkowski said he believed that
while reporting had improved, it
wasn’t enough to justify the increase.
In tjje 10 years UNL has had a
crime prevention unit, he said, police
have pleaded with the campus com
munity to report crimes. But for the
most part, police have been ignored.
“We are still fighting a very solidly
entrenched ‘it can’t happen to me’
attitude,” Kalkowski said. “You can’t
really say it’s a real push that’s start
ed.”
In the past two years, UNL has
added 36 safety phones (with plans for
more), a campus escort service for city
campus, and classes educating stu
dents about awareness and self de
fense.
and Lincoln community),” he said
“There’s no magic boundary that sep
arates the university from any other
part of the city.”
TheUniformCrime Report (UCR),
a separate set of numbers that
Kalkowski reports to the FBI, showed
a drop in some crimes from 1992 to
1993, while others rose significantly.
Arson and third degree sexual as
saults dropped slightly according to
the UCR, while burglary increased
from 35 to 59. Motor vehicle theft
doubled, as did larceny theft, which
topped all reports last year at 978.
Rape increased slightly in the UCR,
while aggravated assaults rose from
one to 44.
While Kalkowski said he had not
seen a real change in the number of
crimes reported, UNL does not seem
to enjoy that elite status anymore.
Figures the Daily Nebraskan re
ceived from UNL Police Director Ken
Cauble’s office detailed a different
campus.
According to the 1992 Big Eight
police reports, UNL ranks third in the
number of forcible rapes as a percent
age of student population.
By similar measures, UNL was f rst
in robberies and larcenies, third in
minor theft, sixth in burglaries and
eighth in assaults.
The University of Colorado, the
University of Oklahoma and the Uni
versity of Kansas ranked first in these
other crime areas.
But there is disagreement about
whether safety has deteriorated, or if
there’s been an improvement in re
porting crimes.
Sharon Wacker, administrative
assistant to Cauble, said UNL’s high
numbers could be attributed to a de
partment att i tude that pushes students
to report crimes.
“I don’t know that there is an in
crease (at UNL), but people are more
aware and report (crimes) a lot more,”
Wacker said. “We (UNL police) are
very honest with our numbers.”
bui even mougn uiNLOiiiciais are
doing more to improve the campus,
the perception of safety is deteriorat
ing, Kriss said.
Part of the reason might be an
incident two years ago, when Candice
Harms, a UNL freshman, was abduct
ed, raped and murdered, Kriss said.
“That one incident certainly raised
not only consciousness, but aware
ness, and made all of us much more
aware of our own safety,” Kriss said,
i think it brought the university to a
whole other level of concern.”
Kalkowski said some campus crime
:an be attributed to the proximity of
downtown and the size of Lincoln.
“It’s a little of both (the university
i^ancowsKi said tne ditterence be
tween the two sets of numbers was that
the UCR had a different system in
classifying offenses.
As Lincoln grows, Kriss said, safe
ty dangers are sure to become more
real.
“The campus can be as safe as safe
as can be,” she said. “But you cross R
Street and you’re in another safety
zone.”
The perception of how safe an area
is, however, is different for everyone.
Kalkowski said the best way for
people to protect themselves and stay
safe is to use their head.
“The minute you start thinking you
can’t be a victim is the exact minute
that you indeed can,” he said.
UNL offers legal services for students
By Angela Jones
Staff Reporter
Even with mom and dad hours
away, students still have someone to
help them out of trouble.
ASUN Student Legal Services Cen
ter offers students free legal advice
and representation. Legal services are
funded by student fees at a rate of
$1.64 per student per semester. The
only additional cost students might
have is if there is a court fee.
Karen A. Steinauer, attorney at
law with Student Legal Services, said
that legal services are available to any
student who is registered for a class at
the time the case is filed.
“Most students are not poor enough
to be able to use a publ ic defender, and
they don’t have enough money to hire
an attorney,” Steinauer said. “We fill
that gap for students.”
The last fiscal year, the center han
dled 1289 cases. Forty percent of
those cases dealt with criminal misde
meanors such as DW1, Minor in Pos
session, Disturbing the Peace, and
Assault and battery, Steinauer said.
The Student Legal Services’ attor
neys provide court representation to
students who have been charged with
a misdemeanor in Lancaster County
but not felonies, Steinauer said. Any
felony charges, or misdemeanor charg
es that are outside of Lancaster Coun
ty, must be dealt with by a private
attorney or public defender, she said.
The center also helps students get
involved with pre-trial diversion pro
grams, where the student does com
munity service work. This helps pre
vent students from having a criminal
record, Steinauer said.
The center does not handle cases
involving personal injury, cases in
volving the university, or any student
vs. student cases.
Although most of the students that
use Student Legal Services are al
ready involved in a case, the center
also helps students with preventive
measures.
Many students are not aware of the
many different laws, and this being a
bigger city, a lot more of these 1 aws are
enforced, Steinauer said.
The center publishes and distrib
utes a Student Legal Services Hand
book to help students become more
informed on the laws that affect them
the most. The handbook is available to
students at the Student Legal Services
Center located in room 335 in the
Student Union. .
Steinauer said she and the other
attorneys at the center don’t want
students to feel intimidated to come in
and meet with them. The attorneys are
here to provide a service to a class ot
people who normally would go
unrepresented.AU discussions and
personal files are kept confidential,
Steinauer said.
Students who have a legal problem
or question should call 4/2-3350 to
set up an appointment with an attor
ney.