By Dylan Schmidt, Zach Glander, & Jared Valleskey
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is known for many things, but one of the things that draws students to the campus is its rural location, which allows both students and faculty to enjoy Northeast Wisconsin to the fullest. Whether it’s during the fall semester when the leaves change and the trees on campus give a whole new feel to the campus, or when the first Wisconsin snowfall comes and covers the campus, it gives it a calm yet peaceful feel for everyone on campus. UW-Green Bay’s campus provides so much for students looking to not have the “normal” college experience that most colleges have. Along with all the positives that the campus has for students, there seems to be one concern that some students have, and that is how safe some of them feel while living on campus.
The campus offers many different types of housing options for students, from the typical shared dorms for incoming freshmen all the way up to private room apartments for upperclassmen and graduate students. Despite all of the measures that have been taken to help students feel safe and secure on campus, some people, specifically those who live on the first floor of their buildings, don’t feel as safe as those who live on the second or third floor. Over the years, there have been mentions of students being anxious over their safety around campus and in their dorms. Students who live on the first floor have expressed their discomfort with other students and strangers being able to peer into their rooms through the windows. Thankfully, the campus does provide curtains or drapes on all of the windows in all of the buildings, but one of the biggest problems that has been mentioned by many students who feel unsafe is how easy it is for the screen windows to be removed, even from the outside. The plastic screen windows have no exterior barrier, allowing for them to be easily removed from the outside. The main sliding glass windows do, however, lock and provide security from the outside for students living on the first floor who feel unsafe living on campus. Some students, however, don’t feel as unsafe as others do on campus.
Ethan Lecker, a sophomore who lives in Donald Long Hall, gave his insight on the matter of whether he feels safe living on the first floor of a dorm at UWGB. “Pretty safe. There haven’t been any instances of feeling unsafe”. Lecker gave his insight on whether he felt like the campus needed to implement more to make students feel safer. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot of instances where the campus would need to implement for keeping people safe at the moment.” The last thing he touched on was if he thought the campus police were keeping the students on campus safe. “I don’t think they’ve done anything that impacts students that much, in my opinion.”
On-campus living isn’t the only way some students feel unsafe, as those who commute to and from campus have some concerns as well. As we entered daylight savings, one of the things people hated the most was how early it got dark. People don’t like this for many reasons, whether it be the fact that they don’t feel productive or they lack motivation. This may be true for a lot of people, but for some students and maybe even faculty on campus, it’s the uncomfortable walk to or from their classes that makes them feel unsafe.
As stated earlier, UW-Green Bay’s main campus is surrounded by many open fields and is secluded, so the normal headlights from cars and city lights that other college campuses may have are non-existent at UWGB. For most, the walk to their class can range from anywhere between 2-5 minutes, which may not seem like a long time, but during the winter at night, for some, it can feel much longer. Many students, primarily female students, feel unsafe walking alone at night on campus and have mentioned how easy it would be to increase how safe students feel at night, and that would be installing more street lights. Anyone who is on campus at night can tell you how few street lights there are for a college campus as secluded as UWGB. For most of the walk on the exterior of the main buildings on campus, there are not as many lights as there could be that could allow people to feel more comfortable on their walk and even ward off any potential “stalkers.”
With some students feeling uncomfortable both inside and outside their buildings on campus, there is one spot that, over the past few years, has people talking not only on UWGB’s campus but in the city of Green Bay, and that is the trails on the campus. During summer, the trails provide a way for anyone to experience nature on the campus. The trails surround the campus to allow those walking to get a full experience of the campus as a whole while students wait for a new semester to start. But as the leaves change and the weather gets colder, the trails become empty and more or less unused on campus, especially not at night, and there has been one recent incident that has decreased the traffic on the trails.
On September 21, 2021, a body was found on the campus in the northeast corner of Cofrin Memorial Arboretum after someone nearby reported a grass fire. With the arboretum being about 290 acres and with nobody in the area, it is easy to see why the crime was committed here. Almost immediately, the word spread on campus about the incident, and students became pretty concerned, and rightfully so. Despite this incident occurring over two years ago, students still avoid the trails at night when the temperatures start to fall. The trails have become very unused because of incidents like these, and students remain unsafe near the trails. There are safety measures that could be taken to make the trails safer, but even then, students might not use the trails.
Zonovia Rayford-Parker, a sophomore at UWGB, commented on how she feels about the campus’s overall safety. She stated, “Honestly, people do not understand that no action is taken until after something bad happens. I feel safe, but not all the time. When I am in my room, I make sure the window is shut and locked and the curtains are closed. I do not want somebody on the sidewalks looking into my room or knowing where I live.” Rayford-Parker went on to state how she does not think that these things are taken seriously enough and that stricter punishments should be given to those who are caught: “stalking” or following someone back to their place. “I go to college to learn and get my education. I don’t want to have to worry about my safety and whether or not I can leave my dorm at night.”
In the past, the trails that are located on UWGB’s campus had phones where students could call someone if they needed assistance in any capacity. A couple years ago, these phones were removed from the trails due to lack of usage. Students had the ability to use these phones late at night when they were walking on the trails or during the day when they were in need of one. This led to students having to rely on their own resources, where they would feel unsafe. Removing the phones from the trails limited the amount of time that students spent outside at night because they would not feel safe.
Last year, UWGB leadership led a safety walk where students could walk with those in charge and “engage in open dialogue and a walk with University leadership to discuss and highlight areas of concern that may affect security and safety on campus (e.g., areas of inadequate lighting, overgrown shrubs, concern over traffic or pedestrian safety). ”(Inside-UW-Green Bay News). This safety walk was a resource that all UWGB students could use to educate themselves on the areas of campus that are safe and those that are not as safe. UWGB still has a “safe walk program” that students can use if they feel unsafe. All students have to do is call the public safety office at 920-465-2300 (ext. 2), tell the dispatcher where they are, what they are wearing, and their phone number in case they have to call back, and stay where they are. This process has not been used often because, with the removal of the campus phones on the trails, students do not have access to a phone if they do not have one.
As with all campuses and universities, UW-Green Bay and the campus police continuously observe and analyze the crimes committed on campus. The UWGB campus has a crime report that they release on the school’s website. The page has PDFs that describe every crime that has been committed every month of the year on campus. The goal of this is stated as “Provided for courtesy and ease of access by the general public.” The crime report is often used by many students and is a very good tool for a student’s safety on or off campus. The safety around the UWGB campus is something that has been questioned in the past and is one of the reasons why students may choose other universities over Green Bay. Being a university that is away from city life, the UWGB campus is vulnerable to areas that seem unsafe to many. Compared to other universities, Green Bay is one that needs a revamp in its safety so that students can attend college and not have to worry about their safety. With more students and faculty voicing their opinions on the safety and security that they feel on campus, the university will continue to improve in keeping their students safe while they continue their education.
Sources
“Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report.” Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report – Title IX & Clery Act, www.uwgb.edu/public-safety/clery/annual-security-report-and-fire-safety-report
“Crime Report Data.” Crime Report Data – Police Beat & Crime Reports – University Police, www.uwgb.edu/public-safety/police-beat/crime-reports-data/
“Safe Walk / Home Safe.” Safe Walk / Home Safe – Crime Prevention – University Police, www.uwgb.edu/public-safety/crime-prevention/safe-walk-safe-home
UW-Green Bay 2022-23 Annual Security and Fire Report, www.uwgb.edu/UWGBCMS/media/public-safety/files/pdf/2023-2024-Annual-Security-Report-and-Fire-Safety-Report.pdf
