As a student at the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, I believe that the campus is a very safe and inspiring environment
to grow and learn. I have not personally been involved in any situation that I
felt I could not handle, but it goes without saying that no matter where you go
there will always be some level of trouble and crime. There have been numerous
cases in the news regarding rapes and sexual assault accounts and many of them
being near or on a college campus. In fact, between 20% and 25% of women will
experience some form of rape or sexual assault during their time in college,
around 50% of sexual assault events dealing with college students involve
alcohol consumption, and over half of raped college women do not reveal their
incidents to anyone[1].
At UNCC, there are many resources for students in need of
any help such as class scheduling, studying for exams, making friends, etc.
There are also resources for students who feel unsafe or who need to deal with
personal incidents of sexual abuse. There is one resource called R.A.D. (Rape
Aggression Defense). This program is a women’s only twelve hour course that
teaches defense moves that are extremely useful when being attacked and also
tips for avoiding situations that involve attackers. Once a woman completes
this program she will receive a certificate and the ability to retake the
program for free anywhere in the U.S. or in Canada[2].
I have not completed the course but I would still strongly recommend it to
every woman, student or staff member, on campus.
Not only is there a physical program for people of UNCC, but
there are also helpful links on the UNCC webpage itself (uncc.edu). Under “Police
and Public Safety” here is a link for anyone to anonymously submit information
about an unconsented sexual happening and, with permission, can gain access to
the Dean and director of student conduct and outreach[3].
There are so many safety precautions and life lines on the
campus of UNCC that I could go on and on. There is the UNCC ID card that only
lets the right people in dorm buildings, the many blue emergency button poles
scattered perfectly everywhere, the always-on-call police staff, counselors
specifically trained to aid rape victims, and more. In my opinion, I think UNCC does a great job at keeping its students safe and I don't think there is much more that could possibly be done. Yes, sadly, sexual assault and
rape both have happened on campus but I believe this campus is one of the safer
ones and I am proud to be a part of it.
[1] Gray,
Robin. Campus Safety Magazine, "Sexual Assualt Statistics." Last
modified March 06, 2012. Accessed January 31, 2014.
http://www.campussafetymagazine.com/Channel/Public-Safety/articles/2012/03/Sexual-Assault-Statistics-and-Myths.aspx.
[2] University
of North Carolina at Charlotte, "R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense)."
Accessed January 31, 2014.
https://police.uncc.edu/community/rad-rape-aggression-defense.
[3] University
of North Carolina at Charlotte, "Confidential Report (Blind Report)
Incident of Sexual Assault." Accessed January 31, 2014.
https://police.uncc.edu/clery/campus-security-authorities-csas/confidential-report-blind-report-incident-sexual-assault
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