PHILADELPHIA – In early November, a female student at Temple University was physically and sexually assaulted in one of the university’s main academic buildings.
The student was grabbed between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., while ere classes were still in session. An unknown male took the victim to a bathroom where he beat, choked and sexually assaulted her. The victim was left with a concussion and wounds on her face.
The incident stirred concern with the Temple community, causing officials to reevaluate the school’s security measures. Currently to gain access into a building, students and faculty must use a university-issued card; however, some students believe campus buildings are too easy to enter to guarantee safety.
Ray Betzner, spokesman for Temple, stated the school is in the process of increasing security for many of the buildings.
At nearby school Penn State, security measures will not change, despite the incident.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush explained that requiring an ID to enter campus buildings would cause problems because of the heavy foot traffic during peak class hours. As an alternative, the university has opted to increase lighting, install alarm-notification systems in the majority of bathrooms on campus and deploy security guards. Evening access cards are used to prevent and monitor crime.
Cameras are even an issue at the schools. Temple has cameras inside buildings, thus they are using the footage to investigate the incident. Penn State, on the other hand, has more than 80 outdoor cameras; however, individual colleges have decided not to use surveillance cameras in academic buildings. For some on the campus, cameras create a false sense of security.
Despite the attack at Temple, Penn State students believe that their campus is safe.
