Angela Pagan

It was disappointing to receive more than one message alerting me of robberies on and off campus during the first week of school.

With that being said, I think NIU needs to take more initiative to ensure the safety of its students. Students can make sure to carry pepper spray or try not to walk alone at night but there is only so much we can do before the university has to take responsibility.

A good way to create a safer environment would be to have the buses run later and more frequently. Less students would have to walk home alone in the dark when they leave a night class if the buses ran later. Students would spend less time waiting alone at bus stops if the buses ran more frequently.

One service NIU does offer that should expanded is the Huskie Patrol. These are the people who will walk students back to their dorms at night so they are not alone. This service could use more people so that there is always someone around.

Rachel Scaman

I’ve been fortunate enough to have never had a run-in with crime while living in DeKalb, but I have heard stories, and I think police should be more aware of where the real crime is.

I’ve had friends who said they were sexually harassed while walking home from class or the bar. I’ve heard stories about people getting into fist fights or having a gun pulled on them. I hear even more stories about students getting drinking tickets.

The police should be paying attention to more serious things.

There have been times where I was walking home alone in the middle of the night from work, and cops would just pass by. I’ve had strangers offer me rides home, but never a police officer. Yet, sexual assault is still a problem on college campuses. Reports of sexual assault have increased every year since 2011: There were six in 2011, 11 in 2012, 12 in 2013 and 16 in 2014.

Students would be safer if more attention was being paid to preventing serious crimes, not just giving out drinking tickets.

Abby Zacarria

Student safety at NIU is a very important issue, and students need to feel safe when they are walking around campus at night.

One way that NIU and DeKalb can improve student safety is to increase the lighting on sidewalks and in parking lots on campus.

The main parts of our campus are well-lit, but there are still some areas that could use more lights. Making sure that the sidewalks and parking lots are well-lit will make students feel safer when they are walking around at night.

Another way NIU can improve student safety is to stress the importance of reporting any suspicious individuals seen walking around on campus to students. If students report suspicious people, then they will be able to stop some crimes before they happen.

NIU could also improve student safety by increasing the number of police patrols, especially at night. This will discourage violent crimes and make it easier for students to go to the police for help.