Recordpub.com - Students: "There's safety in numbers'

By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

Rachel Gonzalez is not letting the recent robberies and assaults on and near the Kent State University campus worry her too much.

The petite Cleveland native who lives on campus said taking some common sense steps can prevent KSU students from becoming victims of an attack or robbery.

“Stick with a group,” she said. “There’s safety in numbers.”

Such advice is similar to what KSU Police Chief John Peach said he gives to parents who call the university and ask what their children can do to stay safe.

“We get that question a lot,” Peach said. “I pretty much just tell them that it relies on the prudence and precautions that the son or daughter takes, because we can’t have police officers everywhere,” Peach said. “We’ve increased the presence and visibility of police officers, particularly in the evening hours and particularly in the areas you have bar patrons returning to campus.”

KSU police and other campus agencies are taking steps to try and reduce the likelihood of another violent crime occurring on campus.

Peach said he has asked KSU Parking Services to increase their visibility in campus parking lots, and PARTA has agreed to extend campus shuttle hours to include a route on weekends from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

“It will provide a means of transportation for those people returning to the campus areas,” Peach said. “I think the fact that we’ve made arrests with the robbery involved on campus is very important.”

KSU police have documented four reported robberies on campus this year since August. The third and fourth came this past weekend when two students were robbed early Saturday, and two more students were assaulted and robbed early Sunday morning near the Art Building.

Police arrested four men, three of whom are KSU students, in connection with Sunday’s robbery, but Saturday’s incident remains under investigation.

So far this year, seven assaults have been reported on campus. That doesn’t include the off-campus assault on Nov. 15 that resulted in the death of 23-year-old KSU student Christopher Kernich six days later.

Despite the attacks and robberies, some KSU students share Gonzalez’s mindset.

Conor Stalvey, 21, a Kent native and junior at KSU, said he attended school with Adrian Barker, who has been charged in connection with Kernich’s assault. Stalvey described Barker as “one of the nicest kids you’ll meet” and said he’s not worried because he believes chances are slim another similar violent assault could happen to himself or someone he knows.

“It’s a big campus,” Stalvey said. “It’s unfortunate what happened ... but those are freak occurrences. The chances it is going to happen to you are slim to none.”

Morgan Passek, an Aurora native and freshman at KSU, ate lunch with Stalvey Tuesday inside the Kent State Student Center. Like Stalvey, Passek is not overly concerned about the recent crimes.

“I’ve always carried Mace,” Passek said calmly, adding she’s never had to use it.