I have mixed feelings about this letter from Carlos E. Santiago, Chancellor of UWM. I have attended UWM for three years now and always lived within walking distance of the campus. For the first time ever I am actually scared to walk to my car when my classes get out at 700pm. It seems like each night students are receiving emails about another "Strong Robbery." I feel like Santiago is not willing to take responsibility or action about the robberies that have been occurring almost on a daily basis. Because they are not happening on campus, UWM does not take responsibility? What about the fact that UWM is a commuter college and a majority of students who drive to UWM have to park in the areas where the crimes are occurring. I feel like with the high robbery rates right now, maybe UWM could let students who are paying a lot of money to attend the University park for free in the parking structures.
Dear UWM Students, Faculty, Staff and Neighbors,The frequency and severity of Campus Safety Alerts and Warnings this semester has resulted in many important questions and concerns being expressed by members of our community. I would like to address this very serious issue.1. I cannot stress this enough: The UW-Milwaukee campus is a very safe place. Incidents on campus and adjacent public land remain low. See for yourself by reviewing the statistics in our federally required Annual Security Report,https://panthermail.uwm.edu/horde/util/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww4.uwm.edu%2Fsafety%2Fannual_security_report.cfm&Horde=585e941ec2cde15367d09423e6ca8df82. Nearly every campus safety e-mail we have relayed to students, faculty and staff in recent months has been about incidents in the general vicinity of the campus. We are compelled by federal regulations to communicate this information.3. Most of the incidents in the general vicinity have happened in Milwaukee Police Department District Five, which encompasses 9 square miles and houses 100,000 residents. These incidents compete for the attention of city police officers who, in other parts of the district, are dealing with comparatively more severe crimes. This evaluation can be seen online athttps://panthermail.uwm.edu/horde/util/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.city.milwaukee.gov%2FCrimeMaps115300.htm&Horde=585e941ec2cde15367d09423e6ca8df8.And as shown in the article in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, https://panthermail.uwm.edu/horde/util/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jsonline.com%2Fstory%2Findex.aspx%3Fid%3D673459&Horde=585e941ec2cde15367d09423e6ca8df8,aggravated assaults have increased citywide and the rise in incidents is not limited to the East Side.4. Regardless of what is happening elsewhere in District Five, UWM is doing a great deal to address incidents happening near campus. Our initiatives include:•University Police officers are assigned to visibly patrolling neighborhood streets by squad car, bicycle and foot. We are currently hiring more security officers to expand our walking patrols of the neighborhood. These patrols complement those by the Milwaukee Police Department, who provide a notable presence in part because UWM pays for MPD overtime wages that allow for additional area coverage.•The University Police Department will escort any UWM student or staff member who feels unsafe. Its 24-hour non-emergency number is (414) 229-4627.•Students who staff the university escort service (B.O.S.S.) have been trained to watch for and report suspicious behavior and circumstances.•The University Police Department offers many services including personal awareness and self-defense courses. Training officers will tailor their material to any specific request, which can be made through a form on the police web site, https://panthermail.uwm.edu/horde/util/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uwm.edu%2FDept%2Fpolice%2F&Horde=585e941ec2cde15367d09423e6ca8df8.•A new, detailed campus safety website, https://panthermail.uwm.edu/horde/util/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.campussafety.uwm.edu&Horde=585e941ec2cde15367d09423e6ca8df8, is part of our continuing work to be very transparent in our presentation of useful campus safety information. Please bookmark it.•The campus safety website also is the starting point for signing up for S.A.F.E. Alerts, the emergency campus text-messaging system. If you have not already signed up for the free service, I urge you to do so today.•More developments are being considered for the university, including an emergency siren system.Throughout the 2007-2008 academic year, UWM is committed to the S.A.F.E. (Safety Awareness for Everyone) initiative. A focal point of the concept is that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Working together, we can and will make UWM a progressively safer place to receive a world-class education.Sincerely,Carlos E. SantiagoChancellorUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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2 comments:
wow, santiago's response is laughable. He starts the email off by saying that there are concerns about high crime and he would like to address the issue. But then he rambles about how the campus is safe and that the crimes are happening outside of his jurisdiction. So rather than saying that the university is thinking of new ideas--i like the idea of giving students free parking at a certain time of day--to combat this grave concern, santiago just pushes the problem off on MPD. MPD simply doesn't have the resources to handle the situation alone. santiago has to lead the way. too bad he's unwilling to do so.
Well said.
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