Student Views on and Concerns Regarding Campus Safety
Session Title
Crime
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Sociology, Criminology & Anthropology
Faculty Mentor
Michael Sickels, Ph.D.
Abstract
This study examines how campus safety is constructed as a part of the student experience by students at Winthrop University. At Winthrop, campus safety has been a recurring topic amongst students, so in order to learn how students actually feel about safety on Winthrop’s campus, we conducted 12 one-on-one interviews. The participants ranged in class standing (excluding freshmen) and gender. We found that both men and women at Winthrop University do contemplate safety and how they can feel safer on campus. Women are more likely to feel unsafe at night while alone and more likely to carry something with them to protect themselves. Men are likely to feel unsafe when they believe that campus police do not take them seriously; however, they fight against these feelings because the social construction of gender makes them believe that they must be strong and unafraid. We suggest improving building design, police presence, self-defense classes, and lighting in outdoor areas in order to improve campus safety.
Course Assignment
SOCL 519 – Sickels
Start Date
24-4-2020 12:00 AM
Student Views on and Concerns Regarding Campus Safety
This study examines how campus safety is constructed as a part of the student experience by students at Winthrop University. At Winthrop, campus safety has been a recurring topic amongst students, so in order to learn how students actually feel about safety on Winthrop’s campus, we conducted 12 one-on-one interviews. The participants ranged in class standing (excluding freshmen) and gender. We found that both men and women at Winthrop University do contemplate safety and how they can feel safer on campus. Women are more likely to feel unsafe at night while alone and more likely to carry something with them to protect themselves. Men are likely to feel unsafe when they believe that campus police do not take them seriously; however, they fight against these feelings because the social construction of gender makes them believe that they must be strong and unafraid. We suggest improving building design, police presence, self-defense classes, and lighting in outdoor areas in order to improve campus safety.
