Emily Hodges - Best Investigative Feature - Vision

12 FEATURES

YORK VISION

Wednesday May 5th, 2009

ARE STUDENTS In the light of a spate of incidents involving students both on and off campus, take their

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he end of term for most students normally means going back home for the holidays, and at least a couple of weeks free from York and the university. Except this holiday, the national news reports on the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence, a chef at our very own Goodricke College, made York difficult to forget. Watching the BBC news, only to see CCTV footage of Goodricke College reception or reports filmed on your route to campus

is a little unnerving. To many students, it acted to bring the issue of their own security home. “It definitely makes you think about your safety”, said Rachel, a second year sociology student. “When you see things like this on the news, it always makes you feel bad, but it’s not someone you know. You always think it won’t happen to you, until it’s right on your own doorstep, somewhere you walk every day.” But does an event like this

actually change anything? Even Rachel admitted, “I do worry more now, but I’ll still walk home on my own”. So if something so high profile happening in such close proximity to the areas of York where students spend their time doesn’t affect us, then what will? What does it take for students to take their own safety seriously? It’s worth saying that, in the case of Claudia Lawrence, the police are focusing on her disappearance being connected to someone she knew. And although she is not a student, her connection to the University has made this a notable case for many students in the JUNE 2008 area. On the whole, York is a safe place to be - the University’s website proVision reports on a series of attacks on York students off cammotes York as “usually a very safe city to live in”, pus, including a gang vicously beating a group of second years and crime levels in the after a night out. city for incidents like violence, thefts, and sexual offences are all very close OCTOBER 2008 to the national average figures. That said, it doesn’t Female students are approached by a stranger on their way mean the city is comback to Halifax College near to 22 Acres, during Welcome Week. pletely immune to violent incidents. It’s not rare to see York Press newsNOVEMBER 2008 paper stands reporting murders or assaults in the city, and there’s barePolice investigate a sexual assault on Heslington Lane. ly an issue of Vision or Nouse that doesn’t feature another story of a student DECEMBER 2008 suffering some kind of brutal attack. Instances of students coming under Vision reports on the inadequate lighting around campus, after around campus, students report of being approached on routes off campus while attack in town or in the popular on their own at night. student rental areas of the city do happen. A university spokesman disclosed JANUARY 2009 there have been a total of 10 recorded assaults on campus since 2006. The case of a Goodricke student being attacked by a gang near Furthermore, figures obtained by Vision from Alcuin College is reported by Vision. the North Yorkshire Police at the end of the autumn term (19/12/2008)

IN THE ARCHIVES

suggest that these kinds of incidents are on the rise. Both reported violent crime and alcohol-related crime incidents on campus rose dramatically in 2008, compared to the previous year. YUSU Womens Officer Ellie Kuper Thomas thinks a balanced attitude is needed. “I don’t think students should panic – especially in the Claudia Lawrence case, where police are investigating more into her personal life and people she knew – and students shouldn’t feel that their movements are restricted and they can’t go anywhere on their own, or do

I could see him turning around, and he started walking behind me. I ran the rest of the way. anything. But I do think it’s important to take precautions, and to use things like the free student bus, and make use of the attack alarms available from the Union. It’s important to be aware – walking on main roads, and being ready to take that extra five minutes to avoid the shortcuts.” Talking to people around campus, it seems like everyone has some story, whether their own or from someone they know, of a bad experience happening when walking around York or the campus. One sec-

ond year student told Vision about her experience one night on the way to the pub. “I was walking to meet my friends like normal, after finishing work at ten. Along the street, I noticed a man walking towards me. Just in front of me, he stopped in the middle of the street and stared at me. I kept walking and headed round him. I could see him turning around, and he started walking behind me. I got scared then, and ran the rest of the way. He didn’t follow me, and it could have been nothing, but it really shook me up. I get a taxi back from work now, or walk with a friend, just to be on the safe side.” But if student have had bad experiences, they certainly don’t act like it. The results of a Vision survey among students on campus showed that the large majority of students, two thirds, admitted that they would walk home on their own from town on a night, even though they don’t feel safe when doing so. One first year even said she would be more likely to walk home when she was drunk after a night out. Kuper Thomas believes it can take a shocking experience to make people aware: “I think for a lot of people it would take something to happen to someone they know before they take things seriously, which really is a mistake. That’s why we need to keep people aware and make them remember that these things are serious. York can seem like a very safe place, especially to students who come from bigger towns, and I think it’s easy to get complacent. Things can still happen and it’s not worth taking risks.”Female students in particular confessed to feeling unsafe when walking home – 86% of them had worries about