PROPOSAL FOR FUNDING OF STUDENT SAFETY APPLICATION FOR
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Presented By:
Chris Wool, Kory Ball, Lian Bossert, Shiyuan Guo, Travis Ables, Sal Zaharson
To:
Associated Students of the University of Oregon
November 6th, 2014
Introduction
The University of Oregon dedicates a great deal of effort towards protecting student safety.
Resources such as the Dean of Students office as well as the presence of a University Police
Department on campus are just two of the primary means for students to receive help for safety
needs. However, resources can only take prevention and action so far, student proactivity in the
utilization of these resources is key to effectively creating a safe campus. As stated in the
University’s mission statement, “the cultivation of an attitude toward citizenship that fosters a
caring, supportive atmosphere on campus” is something that can only be done by students for
students.
Through analyzing the existing resources available to students as well as other factors affecting
student proactivity, we have identified a need for a student oriented method of reporting crime
that would effectively increase student proactivity and in turn student safety overall. We propose
the development of a smartphone application that would be an immediate, simple way for
students to report crime and contact law enforcement officials.
Situation Analysis
Interviews conducted with the Eugene Police Department, as well as Director of Substance
Abuse of the Dean of Students Office identified two primary reasons for a lack of student
proactivity in reporting crime. The first being a fear of repercussions, the second being a lack of
a readily available resource for reporting crime or dealing with risk situations.
The fear of negative repercussion or negative punishment for actively engaging with members of
authority has identified itself as the key reason as to why students do not actively engage in
reporting crime. In interviews conducted with students, the fear of receiving a citation or being
“judged” by a hospital official for being intoxicated are recurring reasons provided by students
when asked why they might hesitate to call for help. Eugene Police Department (EPD) officer
McIver stated, “It’s clear that students hold back because they fear repercussions”. A lack of
action due to this fear is not an issue unique to the university. A 2006 Cornell University study
surveying students in safety or risk situations found that while 19% of students considered
calling for help for an intoxicated friend or friend in need, only 4% did. Applying that across
every scenario, that means only one student out of every five who were in potentially life
threatening situations felt comfortable reaching out to authorities for help. In addition, the study
found that the second highest reason students failed to call for help was because they did not
want to get the individual in trouble. Whether it be fear of repercussion for oneself or for the
individual needing help, failing to act as a result can often have detrimental and even a fatal
effect on the outcome of the situation.
In surveys conducted at the university across all grade levels, results for students when asked
whether they would be comfortable contacting officials in a risk situation or to report a crime
indicated that (statistic placeholder %) of students would feel comfortable calling for help.
However when incorporating the aspect of alcohol, the number of students who would feel
comfortable calling for help while intoxicated indicated only (statistic placeholder %) would do
so in that type of scenario. In considering that repercussion can only occur from direct student
involvement, an additional question regarding anonymity showed that students were (statistic
placeholder %) more likely to report if they were guaranteed 100% anonymity.
Jen Summers, the Director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Success further reiterated
this issue in her interview. “Students often simply fear not knowing what will happen next after
they make the call”, which she stated stems from a general distrust amongst students towards
police officials. A key aspect of getting students past their fear of reporting would be to promote
awareness of the recently passed medical amnesty policy.
The “Good Samaritan” policy passed in February of 2014 protects underage students seeking
medical attention without fear of receiving alcohol possession charges themselves. While it is
understood that not all scenarios of student safety will involve alcohol, this is an important policy
that could affect a majority of students who fear for repercussion in scenarios that do involve
alcohol. If properly promoted to increase student understanding, this policy has the potential to
become an important factor in preventing alcohol-related student deaths.
In summary, it is evident that student proactivity is undeniably affected by fear of repercussion,
which results from a lack of understanding of how the situation will be dealt with, or greater
desire for anonymity in reporting.
For students who are willing to be proactive, the lack of a clearly identified method of reporting
often hinders their efforts or can prevent a student from trying. As previously mentioned, there
are numerous student safety resources in diverse forms of availability. For matters relating to
sexual assault, there are four separate divisions of student organizations dedicated to various
sexual assault prevention services and victim services. Only one of the four involves a student
run hot line for reporting sexual assault cases. The EPD claims sexual assault to be the “most
underreported” crime on campus. In many ways, the lack of a centralized resource causes a lack
of understanding of the individual services provided by these organizations, and lowered student
proactivity in using them.
One resource that students often do not realize is available to them is the Dean of Students
Office. Jen Summers who frequently deals with issues of substance abuse relating to alcohol or
minors consuming alcohol indicated that very few students realize that the office is available for
a variety of student needs. Each of the deans of their respective departments and their staff are
available for face-to-face consultations, counseling as well as responding to emergency
situations. A key weakness pointed out during the interview was the poorly organized web
resources available to students. Whether it is the Dean of Students webpage or other division of
student life pages, students who click on links seeking help are often then taken to another page
where they are overwhelmed by even more choices. Jen Summers described the website as
“difficult to navigate” and stated that “if [a student] needed real help or an immediate response,
[they] wouldn’t know how to get one”.
The lack of centralized and clearly identifiable resources on student safety creates a barrier for
students who are actively seeking help but can’t access it. For students who are reluctant to jump
to calling 9-1-1, they are often deterred from using the various resources on campus simply
because they are unaware of them or unable to reach them.
In conclusion, the combination of these two forces: fear of repercussion for taking action and
lack of a readily available resource for reporting is the primary reason for a lack of student
proactivity in improving student safety. Only by addressing these two key issues can there be a
movement towards a safer environment for students created by students.
Objectives
-Increase percentage of student reported incidents of crime/risk situations
-Increased student understanding of Good Samaritan Policy
-Provide an easy to access tool for student reporting
-Increase student cooperation with Eugene Police Department
-Create a safer environment for students on and off campus
Solution
Proposed Solution: Introduce a Student Reporting Application
We propose an application for mobile devices that can be used to report crimes or risk situations
without having to deal directly with the police. The application “SOS”—Student Organized
Safety would deal with both the issue of fear of repercussion as well as provide a response
method that is immediate and easy to access.
This style of student reporting will encourage student proactivity, simply because of the ease of
access. The application would also simultaneously rid students of the fear of dealing with the
police in person or having to take the time to fill out a cumbersome police report. By providing
students with an option to provide a location and brief description of the crime, more students
will be willing to report what they see.
Using location services software available to smartphones, the application will pinpoint exactly
where the user is, and in most scenarios where the crime is occurring. Students will have a
standard set of choices containing the 10 most common crimes or risk needs reported involving
college students, as well as an option to describe a unique scenario as needed, and be able to
anonymously report the crime to law enforcement. An “other/additional information” tab will
allow students in unique circumstances to describe the reported crime in greater detail or to
provide extra information that they feel is significant.
In addition, as the application would be developed specifically for the University of Oregon,
helpful student safety tips such as information on the Good Samaritan policy or the Social Host
Ordinance would be easily accessible to students as well.
The overall goal through this application would be to increase the percentage of student reported
crimes, providing ease of access as well as a reduced fear of repercussion.
Although in an ideal situation we would like to make this application entirely anonymous to
make students feel safer in reporting what they see, for liability reasons this would not be
feasible. Allowing anonymous reports would lead to the opportunity for the application to be
abused or to provide misinformation to police. In addition, the police may need the identity of
the witness or reporter in the event of a serious crime that results in prosecution. As a result, the
application will include record of its use, which can be requested by law enforcement as needed.
It will be made clear in the application’s description that any individual who intentionally
misuses this app will be subject to criminal liability, similar to 911 prank calls. While we
understand this detracts from the appeal of complete anonymity, further research is being done to
find a proper solution where students feel safe to use the application without fear of
repercussions.
Creating an application has the highest potential for reaching a target audience of technologically
savvy college students. We believe that by making a proactive safety measure easily accessible
on a student's phone, the services are more likely to be better utilized. Making student reporting
available through an application also encourages students who would like to report incidents but
may not publicly feel comfortable doing so. Many times students are hesitant to call the police
on crimes such as sexual assault, especially in social situations such as parties because they fear
the reaction of their friends or others in their surroundings. This solution will greatly increase
student proactivity in reporting, and will lead to the improvement of student safety overall.
Risk Analysis
Technical Plan
Costs
Conclusion
Following every crime that is not reported is another waiting to happen because there is no fear
of officials taking action. Based on interviews, surveys and analysis, we have identified two clear
reasons causing a lack of student involvement in reporting crime which leads to decreased
student safety. Our proposal focuses on how to help students feel comfortable report a crime, and
to provide an easier resource for students to do so. Our mobile application SOS would provide
options for nearly anonymous reporting, and provide students with the option to instantly provide
the location and details in real-time to law enforcement officials who can help. We request the
support of the ASUO in financing the development of this application, which will greatly
increase student proactivity in reporting crimes and risk situations. An improvement in these
areas will overall benefit student life and create a safer learning and living environment for all.
We appreciate your consideration and time in reading our proposal.
Bibliography
Lewis, Deborah CK., and Timothy C. Marchell. "Safety First: A Medical Amnesty Approach to
Alcohol Poisoning at a U.S. University." International Journal of Drug Policy (2006).
Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.gannett.cornell.edu/cms/pdf/aod/upload/Safety1stcornellMedamnesty.pdf>.
Matsumoto, Samantha. "New Law Protects Minors Seeking Medical Attention for Alcohol
Emergencies." The Emerald 11 Mar. 2014. The Emerald. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
<http://dailyemerald.com/2014/03/11/new-law-protects-minors-seeking-medicalattention-for-alcohol-emergencies/>.
Personal Interview- Jen Summers: Director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Success,
University of Oregon Dean of Students Office. Oct 17th, 2014.
Personal Interview- Kelly McIver, Eugene Police Department. Oct 17th, 2014