By JORDAN GREEN, Editor-In-Chief
Only three students were arrested on Northwestern’s Alva campus in 2020, and all were arrested for liquor law violations, according to the university’s annual safety report.
The university released the report in early October, showing that relatively few crimes were reported on the university’s campuses in 2020. No cases of murder, rape, incest, robbery, assault, motor vehicle theft, stalking, domestic violence or hate crimes were reported on any Northwestern campuses.
“We’re a safe campus,” said Calleb Mosburg, Northwestern’s dean of student affairs and enrollment management.
The three arrests on the Alva campus were the first arrests for liquor law violations since at least 2018, according to the report.
The number of arrests fell from 2019, when eight arrests were made for drug abuse violations and two were made for carrying or possessing weapons. In 2018, 14 arrests were made for drug violations, and no other arrests were made.
None of the 2020 arrests occurred in university housing.
DID PANDEMIC IMPACT CAMPUS CRIME IN 2020?
Students weren’t on campus after Northwestern switched to online learning at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, joining thousands of other schools and universities across the nation in responding to the pandemic.
That may have helped keep the university’s crime numbers down, Mosburg said.
“It always feels like your late spring is when a lot of issues will come up,” Mosburg said. “We didn’t have students here, and campus was pretty much shut down after spring break.”
The annual safety report is mandated under the Clery Act, a federal law requiring colleges and universities to provide crime statistics and information to students. Officials have nine months after the end of a calendar year to compile data and finalize information.
The university report includes all crimes reported on campus, but it doesn’t include crimes involving students that take place away from campus – nor does it include on-campus crimes that aren’t reported.
BURGLARIES REORTED AT ALVA, ENID CAMPUSES
Two cases of burglary were reported on the Alva campus in 2020, and one burglary was reported on the university’s Enid campus, though no students were arrested in connection with those crimes, according to the report.
The burglary on the Enid campus was the first crime reported there since at least 2017.
No crimes have been reported on the Woodward campus since at least 2017.
Both campuses are commuter campuses, meaning students don’t live on school property.
STUDENTS DISCIPLINED FOR DRUG, ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS
No arrests were made for drug abuse violations on any university campuses in 2020.
However, 11 referrals for disciplinary action were made for drug abuse violations, and eight were made for liquor law violations on the Alva campus.
Disciplinary action includes citations for students who are caught with alcohol or drugs in dormitories. Students who are cited multiple times may be kicked out, Mosburg said.
In the past, the university has referred students with substance abuse and addiction issues to counseling services, Mosburg said, though this is rare. Usually, students realize they’ve made a mistake and don’t repeat it, he said.
“They get in trouble for it, get a ticket for it, and it usually takes care of itself,” he said.
ARE SOME CRIMES UNDERREPORTED?
No cases of rape or domestic violence were reported on Northwestern’s campuses in 2020, but law enforcement officials across the nation say sexual assault and other related crimes may be more common than people believe. A 2014 survey by the Department of Justice found that around 80% of rapes and sexual assaults against college-age women are never reported.
“I think it’s the same anywhere you go – I think there’s more of it that happens than we know about,” Mosburg said. “That’s why we do as much awareness as we do.”
The university conducts meetings with various student groups, as well as employees, to raise awareness about sexual assault, Mosburg said. He said he thinks students who know of such crimes would report them.
“I think there’s more of it that’s happened that we don’t know about, yes,” Mosburg said. “But I also feel like we do a really good job, and our campus does a really good job, of looking out for each other.”