The Chronicle

Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Columns
Last update: 1/18/08 at 7:15 AM EST

Jon Detzel

I never expected to spend my senior year of college fearing for my life. But at the beginning of my final semester at Duke, that is exactly what has happened.

The armed robbery of an unsuspecting student less than 10 feet from the border wall of East Campus at 9:30 Saturday evening truly undermines the notion that students are safe at Duke. Administrators and students have long taken our security for granted on and around campus, but this most recent incident-coupled with a similar one in the Whole Foods parking lot on the other side of East last semester-seriously questions that presumption.

As an off-campus resident who traverses the Trinity-Buchanan intersection every day and who lives only 100 yards from the scene of the crime, I am beginning to wonder whether the Duke-in-Durham experience has really been worth the risk.

Unfortunately, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta's e-mail did little to assuage my fears. First, I take little comfort in the idea that Durham police are investigating the case. Minor robberies are of little importance in such a crime-ridden town, and the typical "18 to 35-year-old African-American male" portrait of the criminal could describe at least 10,000 Durham residents.

More importantly, however, is the casual manner of the administrative response to growing security issues at Duke. In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech and the rise in violence at schools across the country, our university has apparently done little to address the problem.

We all received that beautifully designed "emergency" packet over the break, but I was shocked to learn that it was solely focused on crisis notification and parental updates. It looked more like a PR piece designed to convince parents that the $45,000 annual investment in their children's education won't be forfeit for lack of child than a detailed accounting of measures the administration has taken to improve campus security.

Despite Moneta's (and the Duke University Police Department's) standard security advice, precaution and common sense only go so far. After all, this latest crime happened at 9:30 p.m., which is way earlier than what one would think is a dangerous hour to walk at the edge of campus alone. And it isn't always easy to get a few people to accompany you on your every travel excursion throughout the day (because most students just don't have that many friends). Recall, too, that last semester's armed robbery happened to three students walking together.

Continued...

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