There have been three crimes in the last year that smallTALK staff considered worth revisiting. All were committed during the fall semester and have seen a conclusion of some sort. Methodist University administrators have required smallTALK to keep the names of those involved in these cases out of the paper.

In August and September, two female students reported that they were sexually assaulted by male students in two unrelated cases. Campus Police Chief James Philips termed the incidents, “acquaintance assaults,” suggesting that both women knew their accused attackers. In response, the Student Government Association (SGA) and administrators called for peepholes to be installed in the residence halls so that students could see who was at the door before opening it.

Also in August, an attack on a female student by an unidentified man was interrupted by another resident.

December brought a report that chemicals stolen from the Methodist University Chemistry department had turned up by Union County Sheriffs in the car of two Methodist students. This prompted tighter restrictions on access to the chemistry department’s stock room during the spring semester.

Sexual Assaults

In the Sept. 7, 2009 issue of smallTALK, Staff Writer Matt Snowberger reported that a male student, accused of sexually assaulting a female student, was taken in handcuffs from his dorm room in Sanford Hall by the Fayetteville Police. He was then taken to the police department in the back of a police car. Investigators remained behind to examine his room for evidence. After a night at the station, he was released and allowed to return to campus.

Campus rumors and later reports from campus police about the case conflicted. Philips denied that any “formal or constructive arrest” was made. The student was not formally charged with the crime. Campus police would not comment further than to say that the Fayetteville prosecutor decided not to pursue charges.

Another, far less publicly known, incident occurred two days after the article was printed. According to Philips, the victim in this case knew her attacker, and the case was unrelated to the earlier one. No charges were pressed and the case was dropped.

Nearly two months later, the combination of these cases prompted discussions in SGA about one-way peep holes for the doors of the residence hall rooms. SGA Secretary Mackenzie Eckard reported during an SGA meeting that residents of Weaver Hall, an all-female residence hall, were concerned about their safety.

“The most beneficial thing that could be done for women on campus is putting one way peep holes on dorm room doors,” said Eckard in the Oct. 21 meeting minutes. “There have been 3 reported rapes this semester on campus. 90% of rapes are not reported. Do the math. One way peep holes, lets get it done.” (sic)

The minutes from the first three sessions of SGA can be accessed on the Methodist University Blackboard by all students.

“There were actually two cases, not three,” said Philips. “These two cases were acquaintance assaults. Peep holes would not have made a difference in either case. That being said, it is always a good thing to improve physical security in any way.”

The peep holes were installed by maintenance over the Christmas holiday. According to Dean of Students George Blanc, the peep-holes were paid for with money from the University’s contingency budget (money set aside for needs that arise during the school year) or from the maintenance budget.

The residence halls at Methodist require a resident’s ID card to get into the hall and residents must sign all guests in and out or face a fine. If someone is inside the residence hall that does not belong there, there is already a problem. Some residential assistants (RA), including smallTALK Entertainment Editor Aryn Hicks, suspect students of using the peep holes to see when an RA is coming to the door and evading the rules of the residence hall.

“No one has said to me, ‘This is a problem,’” said Residential Coordinator Derek Collier, of Sanford Hall. “I don’t think they stop us from doing our jobs.”

Both Blanc and Phillips said that they had not had any reports of someone in a residence hall that called security about a stranger in the building.

Assault at the Pines

There was another incident in August involving an attack on a female student. However, in this case, the attacker was likely not a part of the Methodist community.

Just after school started, two students took a walk to the Mallet Rogers house in the middle of the night. They split up, leaving a female resident of the Pines Apartments to walk back alone. She was followed from the house and was assaulted outside of the apartment building. The attack was interrupted when another resident heard her scream.

The attacker ran and got away. Despite reports that campus police saw someone running away from campus at around the same time, he was never caught. The campus police assert that he was not affiliated with the university. He did not fit the description of the man being sought by the Fayetteville police for a series of rapes at that time.

The student was not physically harmed.

In a recent interview, Philips said that he still does not know how the person go so far into the campus unnoticed.

Throughout the year, foot patrols were increased around the outer offices by reducing the other areas of responsibility for that officer.

At the end of spring semesters and the beginning of fall semesters, maintenance also clears brush and low-hanging trees behind the apartment buildings. It is hoped that increased visibility behind the building will deter strangers from coming onto campus from that direction.

“The good thing about the Pines community is they tend to watch out for one another,” said Philips. “They travel in groups, they question people that look like they don’t belong and they look after one another’s belongings.”

The Pines Apartment buildings are located outside the security gate at the entrance to campus. The entrance to the parking lot is across the lawn from the BB&T Bank and the bus stop. Both are frequented by residents from surrounding neighborhoods. Sometimes, it is difficult for security to distinguish between someone that doesn’t belong and someone waiting for a bus.

According to Blanc, the administrators have discussed closing The Pines in favor of more centrally-located housing.

“It is very likely that the Pines will either be refurbished or closed in coming years,” he said.

Stolen Chemicals

An off-campus crime spilled onto the Methodist campus when two students driving through Monroe were caught with chemicals in their car. Some of the chemicals had come from the Methodist University Chemistry department. The students also had marijuana and cocaine in the car.

Police at the scene of the arrest were concerned that the chemicals may have been capable of making explosives or methamphetamine. However, initial testing found that the chemicals present were not concentrated enough to be used as an explosive.

According to an incident report from the Union Pines police department, the students were charged with drug possession and traffic violations. During their first two hearings, both students filed continuances. The Union County Courthouse calendar lists appearances for both students on May 17. The administrators involved in the case chose not to comment on the case.

Though the students were not charged with taking the chemicals, the theft raised concerns within the science departments about access to the stockroom. Over the course of the spring semester, the chemistry department has made changes to improve security there.

When the semester started, campus security performed a vulnerability assessment detailing areas where security should be improved. smallTALK was not granted access to the report, but Philips said that it was given to Dean of Academics Delmas Crisp.

Chemistry department chair Narendra Singh is now the only person authorized to grant access to the stockroom. The locks were changed, and only three people were given a key (Singh, Dean of Science Lori Brookman and Lab Coordinator Kara Dawson).

 “I am still inclined to install a camera in there, to keep track of who is coming and going,” said Singh. “I just don’t know how much it would cost.”

The department will hire a second lab coordinator over the summer to oversee the chemistry department, rather than having one for both the chemistry and biology departments. This person will keep a daily log of chemicals used in the laboratory periods and will submit them weekly to Singh for review. The coordinator would preferably someone with a bachelors degree in chemistry. They would be screened through interviews and a background check before being hired.

“I’m not concerned about the students who took the chemicals, that is for the higher ups to deal with,” said Singh. “My responsibility is to my department, stockroom, faculty, students and labs.”

As for the higher ups, Blanc said that he was in favor of the changes. He will decide over the summer what to do about the students who still await trial for these other charges.

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Comments (1)

• 2010-04-18 23:46:29 |Comment Posted From :96.10.1.xxx| anonymous  - N/A
  I don't really understand how the peepholes had to do with the sexual assaults that happened on campus. Please elaborate how that is going to help prevent "acquaintance assault." If, they [the girl] knows the other person, they're most likely going to open the door anyway. and how would that prevent assaults that happen outside of the girls room, or those assaults to girls who don't live in Weaver?
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