Several Drury students I spoke to feel relatively safe on our campus, citing factors such as the small number of students and staff and the subsequent recognition of many Drury community members.

In the past year, from Oct. 1, 2004 to Oct. 10, 2005, 112 major crimes have taken place in the block surrounding Drury's campus, formed by Division, Summit, Central, and Jefferson.

Sophomore Mary Ahrens, a native of Mountain Home, Ark. and frequent Springfield visitor, lives in Summit Park and walks only to places on campus, like academic buildings and College Park, but does not frequently take neighboring city streets. Ahrens said, "I feel pretty safe on campus, but when you veer away from campus a few blocks, that's a little unnerving."

Drury security also has a lot to do with the level of security many students feel. Security services such as the escort service that allows students to call security at extension 7400 and request that a security officer walk him or her back to their respective residence or parking lot. Ahrens said, "The security escort service is nice to have if I'm working late on a project in the Pool Art Center or somewhere far away from my apartment. It's nice to have that option."

Drury security's latest service may also prove to increase safety levels in students. Drury security has teamed up with Yellow Cab to offer the Cab Connection service.

This service allows Drury students to call Yellow Cab from downtown and request a cab back to Drury's campus. Yellow Cab will not make the student pay at that moment, but rather will take the student's name and ID number, send the bill to Drury security, who will then place the fee on your personal student account.

In January 2002, while many students were still on Christmas break, two female Drury students were raped. Jeffrey Stumph, a 22-year-old Springfield man who had been out of jail for only three months, kidnapped the two girls during the course of five hours on a Saturday night.

"The two girls were taken out of well-lit areas, weren't in 'bad' parts of town, and didn't know their attacker," said Kevin French, current director of security at Drury who was an officer at the the time of the attacks. "Statistically this isn't how most rapes take place, but this was still a horrible situation."

French vividly remembers the details of that night: when he received the call at home close to midnight, reviewing the security cameras in Lot D of College Park where the first girl was abducted from, and going to the hospital to speak to the families of the victims. "I remember feeling somewhat helpless that night; I wanted to do something, but the damage had been done," French said.

Sara Cochran, a current Drury graduate student and undergraduate at the time of the attacks, remembers getting a phone call from a friend in College Park within hours of the first attack. "She lived in College Park and was staying there for the break; the police had come to her apartment looking for her roommate because there were shoe tracks in the snow outside her car and they needed to check her shoes."

Cochran discussed the feeling on campus after the news had spread. "I know that for the rest of the break the students who were here were freaked out and more cautious. My mom bought me 10 things of pepper spray to hand out to my friends."

French said that as far as security was concerned, the rape incident was handled very much like last year's Robert Hardy situation. "We notified students by knocking on doors and reminded them to keep their doors locked and account for their roommates."

Both French and Derr reiterate the advice many student have heard in the past: don't walk alone at night, be aware of your surroundings, carry pepper spray or a whistle to attract attention, and don't dismiss odd behavior. However, new advice is being given to people around the world to protect themselves from being raped.

Derr said, "In the event that something like this does happen, just remember to get a lot of support behind you in whatever route you take, be it pressing charges or what not, but see a doctor no matter what so you have the resources and evidence you need to take action if you so choose to do so."

Counseling services are provided by Derr in the counseling office, located in the lower level of the FSC across from the nurse, or locally at The Victim Center. The Victim Center is located at 819 Boonville and can be reached at 863-7273. Also, on Monday, Oct. 24, the first day of Wellness Week, Rape NOMORE, a group of college males addressing the issues surrounding rape and how men can respond to an incident of rape, will be speaking to students in the ballroom at 7:30 p.m.

Since the attacks in early 2002, when students became alarmed and cautious, French has seen a decline in things such as the escort service. "It's important for all students to be aware that yes, our campus is safe, but it is not out of question for a situation to occur; therefore, we all should be prepared and cautious at all times."

*They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard.

*If you put up any kind of fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.

*They won't pick women who have umbrellas or other similar objects that can be used from a distance while still in their hands. Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon.

*You lose appeal as a target if you see their face and could identify them in a line-up; therefore, if someone is following behind you, look them straight in the face and ask them a question, like, "What time is it?".

*You might not be able to beat them with strength, but you can outsmart them by pinching the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and the armpit) or in the upper inner thigh, very, very hard.

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