UW-Madison urges students to take safety precautions

While many students were away from Madison for summer break, the city has experienced a series of violent late-night attacks and robberies.

As a result, officials from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Offices of the Dean of Students (ODOS) and the UW Police Department (UWPD) urge all new and returning students to pay heightened attention to their own personal safety.

“We want all students to be safe at UW–Madison,” says interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam, noting that victims are never to blame, but students must take a measure of control over their personal safety. “If you walk home alone or intoxicated, you are putting yourself at increased risk. Look out for yourself and your friends.

“Often, students hear safety information, but think ‘It can’t happen to me,'” Berquam adds. “I want to be very clear — based on what we’ve seen this summer, all students, whether from small towns or large cities, are equally at risk. Don’t assume it can’t happen to you.”

Approximately six to 10 downtown assaults or robberies have been recorded by Madison police and UWPD since the end of the spring semester. In several, but not all, of the incidents, intoxicated young men walking late at night were targeted.

Most recently, a female student was violently assaulted in the early morning hours of Aug. 23 in the 100 block of Langdon Street. The victim had not been drinking, and the attack was apparently random in nature. The suspect is still at large.

Not all of the situations fit the same pattern, says Lt. Eric Holen of the UWPD. In several of the earlier cases, victims were asked a simple question by an assailant and then attacked when they stopped to answer. Only after the attack was the victim robbed, showing that violence, not theft, was the primary purpose.

It is unclear if one or more groups are responsible for the crimes, and most remain unsolved.

Both Madison and UW police are stepping up vigilance of the downtown area and asking all students, regardless of where they live, to take extra precautions.

UW–Madison is engaging in a semester-long effort to raise student awareness around safety issues through mass e-mail, awareness messages from faculty, stories in campus publications and visits to residence halls by Berquam and UW and Madison police.

In particular, new students who may not be familiar with Madison or the recent string of crimes will be a focus of the campaign. Staff members from ODOS also will be working with fraternity and sorority chapters to communicate safety information to members.

Basic safety tips include:

• Carry a cell phone and dial 911 for help.
• Walk with a friend whenever possible.
• If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation so as not to put yourself in a position of increased risk.
• Report any crime or suspicion of a crime immediately, starting with your location. If police are contacted within the first five minutes, they have a better chance of finding a suspect.
• Take advantage of SAFEwalk and SAFEride programs available on campus. Call (608) 262-5000 for detailed information.
• Keep your head up. Do not look down or away. Make brief eye contact with all people you meet.
• Use public walkways and avoid isolated shortcuts, where you have limited escape routes.
• Be aware of places along your path of travel that could conceal a criminal (shrubbery, building recesses, etc). Avoid or keep a distance from these areas whenever possible.
• Make sure someone knows when you leave and when to expect you back.
• If you think someone is following you, cross the street. Head for a well-populated and well-lit area at night.
• Wear clothing that will allow you maximum mobility if it is necessary to run. Be prepared to drop your valuables (heavy books, packages, etc.), because these can slow you down.
• Take a self-defense course like Chimera. For further information, call (608) 251-5126.
• Carry a whistle or personal panic alarm with you.

For more information, call (608) 264-COPS or (608) 263-5700.