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Archived: Feb 04, 2008

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E-mails and media coverage provide mixed impressions of campus crime

Part two in a two-part investigative report

By Isral DeBruin and Mike Kennedy

Houa Lee, now a junior, was robbed at gunpoint last spring while walking home from class. It was around 7 p.m. when a man approached him about a half a block from his house.

“It sucked,” Lee said about the incident. “Whenever someone points a gun at you and says, ‘hands up, throw me your wallet,’ it’s never fun.”

Lee said since being victimized, he avoids walking home late at night and tries to be more aware of his surroundings. However, Lee said he does not give safety alert e-mails sent out by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee any more notice than he did before the incident.

“It’s just such a recurring e-mail that I just don’t even pay attention anymore,” Lee said.

Lee said being robbed has not affected his perception of campus-area crime.

“I don’t know, I think crime is something that can never go away or disappear,” Lee said. “Not everybody’s a saint, and bad things will happen every now and then. You just have to accept it and be more careful when you’re out and about.”

Some students say safety e-mails unhelpful

Ten of 14 focus group participants also said campus safety e-mails – sent out to students when a crime occurs anywhere in the campus vicinity – affect their perceptions of campus safety. These e-mails are sent out in accordance with UWM’s admittedly aggressive interpretation of the Clery Act, a federal law requiring public universities to inform students of campus-area crime.

UWM Vice Chancellor Tom Luljak said the decision to send e-mails to students was made this summer, in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre. The e-mails, Luljak said, are sometimes sent out in instances where they may not be required by law in an effort by the university to remain “as transparent and as forthcoming with data that might conceivably help keep our students and our campus community safer.”

“We believe we are actually going above and beyond what the Clery Act requires,” Luljak said.

Several students in the focus group said they felt “bombarded” with e-mail alerts earlier this year, and that this has made them feel less safe around campus. Some students said they now avoid walking even a few blocks as a direct result of hearing about crimes through e-mails.

One focus group member said e-mails have a negative psychological impact on students because they cause worry when, statistically, most students won’t get mugged.

“I just think that the e-mails are just bad for morale in general,” the student said. “I mean, what difference does it make to find out about all this stuff?”

Luljak said he recognizes the possible harmful result of the alerts and said that while it is unfortunate, he believes the positive effects of safety alerts outweigh the negative.

“It certainly is not our desire to create an environment where people are fearful,” Luljak said. “One might argue that it damages or harms the university’s image by doing more frequent updates, but frankly, that can’t be a concern to us.”

The appropriate concern, Luljak said, is the safety of members of the campus community. He said the risk the e-mails pose is worth the benefit of people being more vigilant and better informed.

Jason Corning, a UWM student and focus group participant, said he agreed with Luljak, that regardless of the negative impacts, safety e-mails are ultimately a good thing.

“I think [e-mails are] a positive thing to scare freshmen, and anyone else for that matter,” Corning said. “People are just stupid and anything to help them avoid getting hurt is just positive.”

Four students in the focus group said they no longer bother reading the e-mails because they’ve become monotonous and aren’t helpful, however none of the students reported wishing the e-mails would stop.

Media coverage called into question

Aside from burglary in 2006, census tract data for the UWM area (campus, Shorewood and Milwaukee census tracts 7300 – 7800) shows that aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and homicide on the East Side are lower per 1,000 residents than in the rest of the City of Milwaukee.

Despite its relatively low crime, the UWM campus area received a lot of media attention during the fall semester of 2007, especially after a student was shot in the leg on the 2700 block of Murray Avenue. Milwaukee Police Department District Five Chief Anthony Smith and Third District Alderman Michael D’Amato both said they do not believe this particular incident was a random act of violence. It has been alleged that the student that was shot was engaging in the purchase or sale of drugs.

Smith said media reporting about East Side crime is unfair because it ignores other areas of the city where more incidents are occurring.

“If a crime occurs on the East Side it’s in the newspaper all the time,” said Smith. “I might have one armed robbery on the East Side and I’ll have 30 of them on the west end of my district and I don’t hear a peep.”

Some officers, Smith said, believe the reporting discrepancies are racially motivated. Being a mostly white area, Smith said campus gets more media attention than areas of District 5 with more black residents.

D’Amato said residents should not be concerned about being safe while going about their regular lives.

“What concerns the average citizen is if I’m a random guy, am I going to have a problem?” D’Amato said.

Smith said he also thinks the chances of an ordinary East Side resident being victimized is low, and that citizens should be cautious, but not afraid, of crime.

“Most people are not going to be the victim of a burglary, or the victim of an armed robbery or a shooting,” Smith said. “Do I think you should be frightened [to live here]? No, but you should be cautious. This is a major city; it’s like any other city.” Smith went on, speaking specifically about the campus area. “This is one of the safer neighborhoods in the city of Milwaukee. It is.”