NSU students have expressed both their support for the victim of a sexual assault that took place on campus and concerns for their own safety. A timely alert was sent out on Feb. 8 to NSU students and staff reporting that the incident had occurred “during the early morning hours, Monday, February 7, 2022.” Little information was released in the timely alert, other than the incident occurred in a parking garage on campus and was perpetrated by a male suspect in a parked vehicle. Any person who may have had information about the incident was encouraged to contact the Town of Davie Police Department.
Students immediately took to social media to voice their concerns, both showing support for the victim and criticizing the lack of information sent out in the alert as well as NSU’s handling of sexual assaults on campus. Over a dozen anonymous posts regarding the situation and others like it were notably shared on the self-proclaimed NSU anonymous confession and entertainment Instagram account, @acguy_, which has amassed hundreds of followers and received over 3,000 submissions to date.
Katerina Sawickij, a senior marine biology major at NSU, said that she feels that while there are current safety measures in place, NSU has a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to the timely alert system.
“I think the timely alert system is unreliable. I always get the e-mail several hours after everyone else,” said Sawickij.
Larry Massey, the director of Public Safety, shared that the timely alert sent out was in accordance with the NSU Campus Safety Handbook, which states that, “If a Clery Act crime or other serious situation arises, either on or off campus, that, in the judgment of the NSU Public Safety director, constitutes a serious and/or continuing threat, a campus-wide timely warning will be issued.”
While there is no actual definition for what amount of time “timely” refers to, Massey explained that a timely alert may be delayed if sending it out would put the victim or the investigation at risk. He added that “timely” may sometimes be within an hour, but other times could be a week. Additionally, if the perpetrator of the crime is arrested immediately and there is no longer an ongoing threat to the university, a timely warning may not be issued at all.
The NSU Campus Safety Handbook outlines services that public safety provides, including information about how timely alerts are sent out and what scenarios constitute a timely alert. If students have any questions or feel unsafe on campus but aren’t sure what to do, Massey encouraged students to call public safety.
Massey reiterated that the many safety resources NSU has makes it a remarkably safe campus, with such resources including the hundreds of blue light system posts that will record audio and video footage if pressed and the late-night escort system, in which public safety officers will provide a walking escort to anyone in the NSU community upon request.
However, Sawickij said that she felt as though safety guidelines could use some reinforcement.
“When I lived on campus, I did not feel safe. I have odd hours at work and am often out late or early. Part of the reason I moved off campus was because public safety was at the front desk of the dorm and didn’t do anything when a man in a white van was trying to get me to come with him at 5a.m.,” Sawickij said.
She added that she thought a great way for safety on campus to improve would be for officers to be more alert and active rather than reactive.
“I think they can improve by paying attention when on duty and being on the lookout for suspicious activity. I also heard that not all of the blue light systems on campus work, and I think improving that would help as well,” Sawickij said.
Justin Abonce, a sophomore marine science major, explained that while he himself feels safe on campus, he shared sentiments that he believed campus safety would be greatly improved with more outreach to students.
“Aspects I would say public safety can improve would definitely be having their contact information a lot more visible to students, as well as being posted in high density areas. I really emphasize that last part because we have seen a bunch of issues happening recently, and I feel like they could have been handled way better and a lot faster,” said Abonce.
Massey explained that, at the time of interview, there would not be additional training or extra safety measures taken by officers following the incident. However, he added that they would be open to providing that training if they felt as though those measures were needed. He also noted that there were other great resources for students concerned about safety on campus specifically related to sexual assault, including the Title IX office and the new R.A.D Systems program.
For students interested in learning more about campus safety, the NSU Campus Safety Handbook can be found here, in addition to resources for students on Title IX’s website at https://www.nova.edu/title-ix/ . Students should also download the SaferWatch app or call (954) 262-8999 with any safety concerns.
