The Hannah Graham case: How can we improve safety in college towns moving forward?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Less of the futuristic "Big Brother" is watching and recording, and more of the "old school."

Young men and young women live in separate dorms.

Dorm check in is 11:00 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Every student lives in a dorm except seniors, who have a choice of where to live. Colleges can buy up the existing off-campus apartments to facilitate this.

Every other weekend the college divisions or dorms sponsor later evening social events.

Drinking and drug use for social reasons is limited to certain weekend hours on campus, and is off limits in the dorms after ten on weekend nights.

This is college, not high school. 20 year olds do not need curfews.

Well, obviously some do. The problem is too much freedom dumped into kids' laps all at once. The result is binge drinking and casual sex. You aren't automatically a mature adult just because you've got a high school diploma.

Who the hell are you blaming here? Hannah? Her parents? The University? The college Ski Team? Her good Friends? The bars? Because if that is what you are doing -that is absolutely ridiculous. JM is thirty freakin' two and he came on to a vulnerable teenager and made her disappear.

I'm not blaming anyone! Just agreeing with the PP that college kids would be safer if we still had single sex dorms with curfews. I am amazed that all parents cannot see the wisdom of those rules. I had too much freedom as a college student and made some bad decisions, I was lucky nothing happened to me.

I disagree. I was in a single sex dorm, with sort of a curfew (no guys allowed past 11 - which was a pain. Easily circumvented romantically. But a pain study wise because the person who was helping me -or I was helping - had to leave before we were done reviewing).

[Anonymous]

Should college graduates be forced to live in rooming houses with curfews and rules about alcohol? Should kids who don't go to college have to live with the sort of supervision you're proposing for other 18 year olds, or don't we care about poor or nonscholarly kids?

At some point, you have to let your children make their own decisions. Most of us are loosening the apron strings bit by bit as our kids grow. We know the risks are out there. Our kids understand that, in theory. But this is not a "college town" problem. This is a societal problem that happened to occur in a highly visible way in a college town.

[Anonymous]

What happened to HG could have happened to most of us in college or thereafter. I wasn't much of a drinker in college, but I was once walking with a female friend up 16th street at about 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning near "stab park" (that's what we called it b/c there were so many stabbings there). We didn't have enough money for a cab, but fortunately, a kind cabbie pulled over and told us to get in b/c it wasn't safe (and we paid him all we had once he dropped us off). There was another time that I thought a drunk guy was going to rape me -- but I slithered away.

We are all lucky to have made it through the dangerous 15-25 yr. age range without permanent scars. I just wish HG's friends had not let her go out alone. She was very unlucky to cross paths with JM. It could have been anyone of us.

[Anonymous]

UMCP had campus escorts you could call late at night if you were alone and needed to cross campus safely. They would send 2 people out in patrol type of vests. That and maybe a neighborhood/campus watch group.

I think any time of PSA they do in dorms or freshman classes will be laughed at and ignored, though the universities should still show them. At least have a discussion and force the kids to critically analyze their situation.

I don't know - universities have enough problems with the male students date raping the female students, let alone outsiders.

[Anonymous]

Really, really emphasize that friends and classmates have an obligation to make binge drinking socially unacceptable and then to be they brother's keeper of anyone who does get really drunk.

[Anonymous]

Good lord. How often does something like what happened to Hannah Graham, actually occur? Of all the college students all across the country (or world) that go out and party on weekend nights, this kind of thing is extremely, extremely rare.

I'm much more worried about the boys who rape and assault girls, or slip them something in their drink. Or colleges that cover up rape on campuses, or protect athletes who behave terribly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. How often does something like what happened to Hannah Graham, actually occur? Of all the college students all across the country (or world) that go out and party on weekend nights, this kind of thing is extremely, extremely rare.

I'm much more worried about the boys who rape and assault girls, or slip them something in their drink. Or colleges that cover up rape on campuses, or protect athletes who behave terribly.

You've got to be kidding me! Google is your friend.

[Anonymous]

The University of Chicago is having a major problem with rape threats from hackers.....

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/09/25/university-of-chicago-students-protest-rape-threat-from-hackers/

[Anonymous]

Who ever decided it was a good idea to send a bunch of 18 year olds off to live in coed dorms with booze all over the place was crazy. 18 year olds would be better off living at home, commuting to college, having a part time job. The entire work hard/party hard idea is out of control. College students are out of control. Binge drinking and hooking up will not make your life better. What kind of education is that? Parents are wasting their money. Every weekend is like spring break. College students have no respect for themselves or others when they are wasted. College women and men who drink are at risk for all kinds of terrible things. But mainstream culture can not get past the idea that binge drinking is part of college. It should not be. It is just humans being stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who ever decided it was a good idea to send a bunch of 18 year olds off to live in coed dorms with booze all over the place was crazy. 18 year olds would be better off living at home, commuting to college, having a part time job. The entire work hard/party hard idea is out of control. College students are out of control. Binge drinking and hooking up will not make your life better. What kind of education is that? Parents are wasting their money. Every weekend is like spring break. College students have no respect for themselves or others when they are wasted. College women and men who drink are at risk for all kinds of terrible things. But mainstream culture can not get past the idea that binge drinking is part of college. It should not be. It is just humans being stupid.

Tell that to the draft board.

[Anonymous]

The "buddy system?"

This is college, OP, not kindergarten. What do you mean, "no one walks home alone?" Says who? And who enforces that?

[Anonymous]

Don't do stupid "stuff."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "buddy system?"

This is college, OP, not kindergarten. What do you mean, "no one walks home alone?" Says who? And who enforces that?

Hey, kid. No one said it should be a law. I've seen you tear apart ideas left and right on this and other threads. Do you have any CONSTRUCTIVE ideas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really, really emphasize that friends and classmates have an obligation to make binge drinking socially unacceptable and then to be they brother's keeper of anyone who does get really drunk.

Yes, and then beat them OVER THE HEAD with a rigid guilt stick when their very smart and independent friend decides to do their own thing one night..

[Anonymous]

OP,

Your list is good, but what happened to Hannah Graham (presuming she's dead) is tragic, but unusual. She wasn't on the college campus, but schools could start being more responsible as to how they handle actual crimes on their actual campuses. Rape is much more common than abduction on college campuses and often perpetrators get away with it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/jmu-sexual-assault-punishment_n_5515408.html