Students
By Jen Dell'Alba
In the spring of 1980, a
sophomore woman was raped
near Oregon State University's
Kerr Library. The next day, 20
Finley Hall volunteers organiz
ed an escort service to help
women make it across campus
safely.
At Capitol Campus,
however, there has been a suc
cessful escort service for the
past two years, according to
Police Supervisor Charles
Alesky at Capitol Campus. The
service is free to Capitol Cam
pus students as it "helps to
deter molestors," stated
Alesky.
In contrast, the service at
Oregon State University is
gone. Few people know it ever
existed.
About 30 miles north, the
University of Oregon female
students, outraged and
frightened by a rape on the
campus last October, will
launch their new escort service
in a week or two.
The object, explains Laura
Romano of Oregon's Women's
Referral and Resource Service,
is to make female escorts
available and, of course, to pre
vent future sexual assaults.
"Capitol Campus created its
escort service as a precaution
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ignore campus escort services
and service for students on the
campus," said Alesky.
But if the experiences of
dozens of other campuses over
the last year are any indication,
Romano's service has only slim
chances of survival.
According to Alesky, the
escort service at Capitol Cam
pus has "worked well for the
past two years."
While many campuses,
preparing for the increased
night traffic of warmer
weather, are now forming
escort services, the services in
general don't work well. Most
don't prevent sexual assaults
anyway, campus police around
the country say.
"Generally volunteer escort
services don't work very well,"
observes Daniel P. Keller,
police chief at the University of
Louisville and head of the na
tionwide Campus Crime
Prevention Programs.
"Right after a rape or sexual
assualt, everyone comes out of
the woodwork," he explains.
"They want to help, but the in
cident fades, and they lose in
terest."
At the nation's biggest cam
pus, Ohio State, three escort
services typically go begging for
people to escort, despite 62
assaults and ten rapes in the
area last fall.
"We get maybe five calls a
night," says Cindi Butler, who
staffs one of the services.
At the University of Wiscon
sin's Reuter Hall, which began
a service after a 1980 series of
sexual assaults, "We get maybe
five calls a night," notes Jim
Whitland, the program's
director.
"We're starting to advertise,
make commercials, in hopes
that it'll pick up," he says.
The University of Maryland-
College Park reported six rapes
and 23 assaults in 1983, and
campus police expect a variety
of escort services didn't im
prove the 1984 statistics.
UM police Corporal Kathy
Atwell says a volunteer service,
started in the early seventies,
continues, but, "Because
they're volunteers, and they
lack the funding, they're iffy."
"We've had escort services
over the years, but as with
everything else you have to
work at, people get tired,
bored, and the thing falls
apart," say operations officer
Richard Gould of Oregon
State's defunct service.
His department provides an
escort service, he adds, "But
they (students) have to call. I'd
say that we get maybe one call
per night, and that's an
average."
But OSU, with nearly 3,000
female students living on cam
pus, needs an escort service,
Gould maintains. Campus
police investigated 10 sexual
assaults last year, a figure
Gould says is high.
A sense of immunity often
keeps students from calling.
"Oh, you hear stories of peo
ple being chased across the
campus," says freshman
Tabatha Somerville. "But it's
never happened to me."
"There seems to be a pro
blem with lack of interest in the
program," notes Greg Colucci
of Kent State's now-folded
escort service. "People just
Thursday, March 28, 1985 The Capitol Times Page
don't want to get involved."
Programs with full-time paid
coordinators seem to do better,
Louisville's Keller says.
"What I've done is divide the
campus into eight main sectors
and position highly visible, paid
students in each sector, work
ing in conjunction with the
campus police," he explains.
"It's called 'Night Watch' and
it's highly effective."
Sexual assaults fell nearly 100
percent in the first nine months
of 1984 from the same period
in 1983, although Keller adds
the number may be misleading.
"Most incidents of rape con
cern people who know each
other, 'date rape,' and conse
quently are never reported,"
Keller warns. "That 100 percen
t drop only represents 'stranger,
forced rapes."'
While volunteer escort ser
vices continue; many merge
with other campus organiza
tions or are swallowed by cam
pus police departments.
EKG, TB tests g
continued from pg. 1
Epileptic Society, Open Door
for the Handicapped.
In a seperate room, special
testing included hearing,
glaucoma and anemia, as well
as EKG testing for heart
problems.
"The testing went we 11... We
did more screening this year
than in the past," said Kresge.
According to Kresge, testing
totaled 202 sugar screenings,
300 dental examinations, 139
EKG tests, 230 blood pressure
checks and 140 fingerprinting
and photographs done by the
Campus Police Services. Free
TB tests were given by the Lung
Association, which Kresge
noted as a great opportunity for
campus students, since students
must pay $1 to have the test
done at Capitol.
The University of Missouri-
St. Louis police took over the
volunteer campus escort service
three years ago, reports securi
ty chief William Karrabas.
The merger produced results.
In three years "there's only
been one reported rape," Kar
rabas adds. "That's lower than
the three to four a year that us
ed to occur."
Louisville's Keller says
volunteer escort services will
always be around in some
form.
At Oregon State, for in
stance, Lambda Chi Alpha has
tried to fill the void. But house
member Jeff Arnston admits
business is slowed by student
apathy.
"At the beginning of the
year, we used to get a few
calls," he explains. "But things
slack off. I'd say the average is
one a night."
But the house plans to main
tain the service "even," Arn
ston asserts, "if it's never us
ed."
wen
The cost of this event total
ed approximately $3OO, accor
ding to Health Services. The
money was taken from the
Health Service budget. The
costs covered expenses for
balloons and hellium, coffee
and donuts for the participants,
and the printing involved in
promoting the event.
Kresge added, "We cut our
costs by doing the work
ourselves, so we didn't have to
pay a maintenance crew."
When asked why the Health
Fair was held in the Multi-
Purpose Building, Kresge
replied, "Space...it is a much
nicer place to have the fair. If
the fair becomes any larger, we
will have to set up in the gym."
The week before the fair,
Campus students handed out
and posted flyers in the local
areas, and clowns distributed
balloons to create more interest
within the community.
Jail Royer, a graduate stu
dent, stated, "I liked all the free
information that the fair of
fered."
The Health Fair received
significant attention from
Channel 15 who, according to
Kresge, filmed a segment of the
fair on Monday for the 6 p.m.
newscast and the Harrisburg
Patriot advertised the fair in
their shopping segment, which
Kresge credits as one reason the
fair was such a success.
Phi Sigma Chi and Chi Gam
ma lota members dressed up as
clowns and distributed the
balloons during the fair. The
Lion Ambassadors served as
the greeters at the fair.
The Health Fair was co
sponsored by Health Services,
Phi Sigme Chi and Chi Gamma