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People express concerns over safety
Jen Brandt and
Denise Kessler
Capital Times Reporters
In the aftermath of two reported
assaults on university worhen, students,
faculty, and staff questioned the way the
administration released information,
police protection and safety measures on
campus.
"Pm disappointed in the way it was
handled by those who released the
information," said Andy Lauck,
professor of Solar Engineering.
"It seemed like someone knew what
had happened way before they said
anything to anyone else," he said. "I
think what they learned from that is that
it's better to just be up front and let
everyone know what's happening
honestly and fairly."
"In tne lona run the most tin .
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"The college has a responsibility to "I believe some of the local police
inform students of these kinds of things should be involved," said a staff member
in a timely way," explained Dr. Mahar, within the humanities division, who
head of the humanities division. asked not to be identified.
"I think the college has to be open
and honest with any press inquiries that
come," he said. "In the long run the
most important thing is the personal
safety of the people on campus and the
college must take steps to see that
people are secure. "
Fearing for their position, several
faculty members asked not to be
identified.
,flabbergasted about what has
happened and bewildered why valid
information wasn't made known about
the rape that occurred back in
September," said a professor within the
public policy division, who asked not to
be named.
"It was very strange that at first it was
considered alleged and then they weren't
sure it happened. It raised a whole bunch
of questions and then I didn't hear any
more about it until the news," the
professor added.
YWCA Crisis Services helps in healing rape victims
Chris Stine
Capital Times Staff
It began on a hot afternoon in August.
Andrea, 20-years-old, had been hitch
hiking along the road near Maui, trying
to reach the town of Lahaina. It was an
acceptable practice to thumb a ride in
Hawaii in 1976.
Two men and a woman in a pickup
truck offered Andrea a ride. One of the
men got in the back of the truck with
her. After fifteen minutes, the man, who
had just been released from prison,
forced himself on her. Andrea suffered a
brutal assault that included being bitten,
struck, and finally, raped. Half an hour
later, she managed to escape and called
the police.
Andrea is fictitious name for the
woman who now lives in the Harrisburg
area. She is one of the countless number
of women raped in the United States
each year. Andrea overcame her physical
and psychological damage through
proper treatment after her ordeal. She
agreed to speak about her tragedy in
order to help Penn State students
understand the horror of rape.
Andrea said she felt lucky to have
escaped the man in the pickup truck.
But her luck didn't hold out. Andrea was
brutalized a second time.
Four years later, Andrea was raped by
her sister's boyfriend. They had been
drinking and she had become ill. The
man attacked her despite her protests.
The memory is a bitter one for
Andrea, who said it was worse than the
first rape.
Students attacked the use of the word
"accost" in a news flyer that informed
students of the reported Sept. 20th rape.
"There's a heck of a big difference
between 'accosted' and rape!" said Jackie
Sterner, a senior math science major.
People said they were also angry over
campus police service.
"One thing that surprised me was that
the rape happened in the upper parking
lot overlooking the Capital Union
Building, and that's right across from
the police station!" explained a senior
finance student, adding that he was
surprised that the rape occurred close to
the station without any police noticing.
Several instructors, who feared
jeopardizing their position, asked not to
be identified.
•
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Campus police may not have the
necessary experience to handle a rape
case, the staff person said.
"The area around the campus is not a
bad area...it [rape] hasn't happened here
often, so they probably don't know how
to deal with it well," the staff person
added.
"It seems like there is very light
police coverage on this campus based on
the statistics I've read in the news,"
explained another public policy
professor. He and several others
interviewed feel that an understaffed
campus police force may contribute to
the uprising fear for personal safety.
Brenda Hanson, a senior math science
major, explained that her car wouldn't
start one night after class. Like many
other students, Hanson said she waited
around for over two and a half hours
without seeing one police car.
"Because he was someone I was
supposed to trust and he forced himself
on me," Andrea said.
Rape is, first and foremost, a crime of
violence. Without proper counseling,
the damage done could scar a victim for
years. Blame is one of the biggest
problems.
"It does vary depending on the
individual," said Rita Shell, psychology
professor at Penn State Harrisburg. "But
it is common for a woman to feel very
ashamed. Oftentimes she feels like she
did something to provoke the attack."
This feeling was shared by Andrea and
her parents when she called them after
the first rape.
"They blamed me," said Andrea.
"They thought it was my fault, but I
thought it was my fault because I was
hitch-hiking alone."
The rape by her sister's boyfriend also
caused problems between her and her
sister.
"I really thought that one was m y
fault because I was drinking and I gave
him a place to stay," Andrea said. "My
sister still has a big hang-up about it. It
created a lot of problems."
Rape has nothing to do with sex. It is
about power. Seldom is a victim singled
out. More likely, the rapist is an
individual with mental or emotional
problems who feels the need to abuse
someone to satisfy their need for
control.
Along with blame, feelings of fear
and shame can adversely affect a victim.
Sometimes women feel ashamed to
express any femininity in their
Lakshmana Viswanath, director of the
computer lab, suggested that patrolling
officers should be more visible,
especially during late hours.
"There will be a lot of students
working now until the end of the
semester...we close at midnight, so after
that they are trying to get back to their
homes."
"I think it's not a secure place and
that we should beef up security," he
added.
Students of the Resident Student
Council (RSC) started a petition about
boosting security.
James Glackin, senior-secondary
education, along with several other
students of RSC, drew up a petition
calling for increased security and patrols
r;;:> ;
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and a student-based response group on
safety matters. The petition yielded over
1200 signatures, and Glackin has met
with several administrators to discuss its
issues
Liz Kibler, senior--humanities, helped
start the petition and said that RSC has
made similar requests in the past.
"We've been requesting new lights by
the dorms since last year's quorum with
Leventhal. And cutting down the
bushes... we've been asking that since
last year's quorum," she said, adding that
the petition was in response to th e
ignored requests.
Lights were added and trees were cut
only a day after students fired gripes
about the two assaults in an open forum
in the Dining Commons with Don
Holtzman, director of student affairs.
Holtzman was the sole administrator
who took heat from over 100 angry
students.
"I noticed that about four o'clock that
evening they started chopping down the
appearance for fear of becoming a target
again. Those feelings erode a woman's
self-worth and confidence.
"There are cases of women trying to
cover up and forget," Shell said. "A
friend of mine was a rape victim. She
went to her door one morning and
opened it. And an intruder forced his
way into her home and raped her.
Afterwards, she was joking about it. But
it was clearly an attempt on her part to
forget the horrible feelings sh e
experienced."
To help heal the physical and
emotional scars of rape victims, local
rape crisis centers are readily available to
assist anyone who needs help. Debbie
Bauer, the rape crisis manager at the
Harrisburg YWCA, offers this
information:
"We offer a 24-hour hotline, as well
as short term counseling.
And all our services are confidential. We
also offer escort services to the
hospital."
Andrea's trauma occurred over 13
years ago. Today, she is married and a
mother.
"If a woman is raped, she should talk
about it with someone she trusts,"
Andrea said. "Talk to a rape crisis
ce nter, and don't blame herself for any
reason, because she's a victim. It's not
because she's wearing sexy clothes."
Harrisburg Rape Crisis Services can
be reached at 717-238-7273 or 800-654-
1211.
irfti<? /
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bushes and doing the lights, and then at
six news cameras (broadcast news
stations) arrived," Kibler said, adding,
"Everything is visible so when they run
the cameras they can say 'here they put
in lighting and here they chopped down
the bushes."'
The petition was designed to include a
large number of commuters' signatures
Proposed bill would
open crime reports
Trev Stair
Capital Times Reporter
Legislation that would force
colleges to open their crime reports
to the public is currently being
discussed in the state House of
Representatives.
Senate Bill 638, introduced by
republican state Sen. Richard
Tilghman, Montgomery County,
would require campus police to
open their logs containing the
names of the persons arrested and
the charges filed against them to the
public.
"These campuses are, in many
ways, small communities unto
themselves. If students are unaware
of criminal activities, they won't
know what to do to limit their
chances of becoming victims," Sen.
Tilghman said.
The bill amends the College and
University Security Information
Act which required all Pennsylvania
schools to supply crime statistics
upon request.
Under the current legislation,
campus crime reports from Penn
State and other state-related schools
are exempt from the state's public
disclosure laws.
Since Penn State receives only
partial funding from the state, it is
considered a "state-related
institution", according to David
Morgan of the Pennsylvania
Newspaper and Publisher's
Association.
•
student concern
about
a dmin - i trative action
• New college legislation
• Healing rape vi tme
• General campus safetY
since members of RSC felt their voices
were not heard at the safety quorum on
Oct. 26th.
Two additional safety quorums held
that week, one at 5 p.m. and one at I
p.m., were held at times inconvenient
for most commuters, Kibler said.
Public disclosure requests to
campus police organizations such
as the one at University Park,
"routinely get denied," said Morgan.
Penn State's distinction as state
related is somewhat arbitrary, but
has been upheld in court decisions,
said Morgan.
Senate bill 638 would make the
state-related distinction irrelevant,
but the bill is meeting some
resi stance.
In the previous legislative
session, the bill passed the Senate
unanimously, but stalled in the
state House of Representatives.
Some members of the House
Education committee felt that open
reports would create a lifelong
stigma for those implicated in
them, according to Greg Jordan, an
aide to Sen. Tilghman.
The bill was redrafted for this
session and is currently sitting in
the House. Jordan said that it is
being pushed for by grass roots
organizations such as Security on
Campus.
Security on Campus is an eastern
Pa. based organization founded in
1987 by Howard and Connie Cleary
after their daughter was murdered
and raped in her dorm room at
Lehigh University.
Security on Campus has been
instrumental in the national
development and passage of
legislation such as the Campus
Crime and Security Information
Law.
Artwork by Chris Stine
CAPITAL TIMES
November 15, 1993