The City of Rochester has the highest murder rate per capita in the state of New York. Right over the bridge near the Residential Quad is the 19th Ward, a very unsafe part of Monroe County. When this violence penetrates our campus’s “safety bubble,” how many students are informed about these crimes?
On the evening of Aug. 29, a woman not affiliated with UR was the victim of an armed robbery outside of Strong Auditorium. At the Eastman School of Music on Sept. 2, Rochester Police arrested Chris Buck, a man already on parole. Buck fled from Java’s after being approached by the police and cast away a loaded automatic handgun during the chase. Curtis Binion was caught attempting to steal bicycles from the Hill Court bike rack on Sept. 5. After refusing to cooperate, he was finally contained, but he was armed with bolt cutters and a loaded starter pistol; there were outstanding warrants for his arrest.
These three instances mark recent criminal offenses committed right here at the University. As students, we should be privy to this information regarding our safety on campus.
An e-mail, including pictures of two individuals wanted for questioning, was sent out to some University members regarding the armed robbery case during orientation week. Similarly, e-mails were sent to some students after Binion was arrested; flyers were also posted throughout the various Hill Court buildings. But most students did not receive such notification and thus remained ignorant of the situation.
There must be a more effective procedure to ensure all students remain informed. Granted, there is an online security notice board, but it is unreasonable to expect students to check this regularly. Rather, a concrete e-mail system should be used to alert students of immediate safety concerns.
There is no reason why some students should remain ignorant of crimes committed on campus. Safety is a concern that everyone shares, and the better informed we are of such offenses, the more capable we become of making smarter decisions.
