KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19.2010 / NEWS
CRIME
7A
Campus incidents of burglary on the decline
BY GARTH SEARS
gsears@kansan.com
Budig Hall has been missing a projector since September, a loss valued at $4,200. The burglary was unusual because of what was rooted and because there simply haven't been that many burglaries this year.
The number of burglaries on campus have been steadily dropping for more than a decade. In 1997, 348 burglaries were reported on campus. In 2009, the most recent year available, there were 63, according to the Public Safety Office's 10-year crime statistics.
"We work hard to educate the campus about crime prevention and much of that is paying off", said Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the Public Safety Office.
Jamesia Carter, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., said the blue emergency phones posted around campus and the police patrolling campus make her feel safer. She said she knows all of the security officers at her dorm, GSP, too.
Based on the past 12 years of records, the two years with lowest incidents of burglary were in 2007.
with 98 burglaries, and in 2009,
with 63.
Bailey said the KU police have increased both the number of cameras in parking lots and the number of police officers on patrol. Bailey also attributes fewer burglaries to smarter decisions by people on campus - things such as locking doors or not leaving belongings unattended.
"The community recognizes they can fight crime through simple changes." Bailey said.
DAISY HILL
Someone snuck into a supply room and stole the Budig projector off a shelf during a September weekend, according to crimereports.com, the website that the Public Safety Office links to for its daily crime log. The case is unsolved.
But as a testament to reduced burglary recently on campus, only two other alleged burglaries are listed on crimereports.com. Both involve cars that were parked outside of a dorm on Engel Road.
Twice this semester — once on Sept. 3 and once on Oct. 2 — cars parked on Engel Road were bur-
glarized. The car that was allegedly burglarized in September was missing a bookbag with books and money that was valued at $453. The car that was allegedly burglarized in October was missing cash and an iPod, valued at $540. Neither case has been solved.
Residence halls pose extra security problems for University police, because the halls include clusters of homes and cars.
Yet the number of burglaries at residence halls improved dramatically last year. There were 30 dorm burglaries in 2007 and 38 in 2008. But, only nine burglaries allegedly occurred last year, according to the University's recent Clery report.
Bailey said the police work with the Department of Student Housing to keep students living on campus safe. Among the programs to protect students is an employee training program.
"Officers spend a lot of time in the halls talking with staff, conducting presentations and simply having a presence in the buildings," Bailey said.
Kristi Marks, a sophomore from Eureka, said the cameras that the University installed at the doors of
her dorm, Corbin Hall, makes her feel more safe.
Marks said her car was broken into at Corbin last year, but it wasn't her who reported it to police. Police informed her — with the guilty man already caught.
"I think police response here is excellent," she said. "They're very efficient."
The Clery report - which counts burglary differently than the 10-year crime stats online, because it doesn't include car burglary - tracks how much of campus crime happens at dorms.
Even comparing them to the burglaries on campus overall, the number of residence burglaries on campus are improving.
Of all burglaries on campus, 46 percent happened in residence halls in 2007. Again in 2008, the amount stayed at 46 percent. Last year, the nine dorm burglaries represented only 24 percent of burglaries that occurred on campus.
Bailey said residents in particular should know that they can help fight crime on campus.
NUMBER OF CAMPUS
BURGLARIES EACH YEAR
"Report things and people
HEALTH
2009: 63
2008: 123
2007: 98
2006: 127
2005: 111
Condom use low among young adults
BY MEG LOWRY mlowry@kansan.com
Edited by Emily McCoy
who look out of place, lock doors, follow the rules regarding the swipe card door system," he said. "It all helps."
If sex were a class, college-aged men and women would get an "E". According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior published Oct. 1, men ages 18 to 24 use condoms only 45 percent of the time, and women ages 18-24 used condoms only 38 percent of the time.
"The biggest problem with birth control is that people think they know more than they actually know," said Ken Sarber, Health Educator for Student Health Services.
Chelsea Johnson, a junior from Lawrence, is a member of
Often, Sarber said, partners are too nervous to bring up these questions.
the Human Sexuality Education Committee at the University. Johnson said the fear of appearing promiscuous prevents people from regularly keeping condoms on hand.
"Even beyond the health aspect, unprotected sex can have a lot of psychological consequences," Johnson said.
"Some people just don't keep condoms with them because they want to look 'good' or 'better'." Johnson said. "But when they inevitably have sex, they do it without protection."
The Human Sexuality Education Committee is a student organization that offers a nine-week long course on human sexuality, taught by former KU professor Dennis Dailey. DeAnna Coyle, president of the committee, said there are more than 40 students in the classes who attend regularly. The classes focus on all facets of sexuality, including body image, how sex influences personality, anatomy,
under the influence of alcohol?
Sarber said this carelessness inevitably leads to great risk.
Nineteen million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year; half of those occur in people between the ages of 15 to 24, according to the National Prevention Information.
With perfect condom use, there is a 3 percent chance that pregnancy will occur each time a couple has sex. With imperfect use, a woman has a 15 percent chance of becoming pregnant.
The NSSHB also found that when in a committed relationship, college-aged men and women are 50 percent less likely to use a condom. If a monogamous couple decides to have unprotected sex, much thought must go into the decision-making process, according to Sarber.
"Partners need to be asking each other important questions," Sarber said. "How many partners have you had? Did you use condoms every single time? Did you have sex
ANDERSON CHANDLER LECTURE SERIES
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS PRESENTS
Thomas M. Hoenig
PRESIDENT AND CEO. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF KANSAS CITY
"The Economic Outlook and Challenges Facing Monetary Policymakers"
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25. 2010·7 P.M. THE LIED CENTER OF KANSAS