Danger at the door

These were just a few of the question that ran through my head after reading an article in “Cosmopolitan” called “Fear Can Be Your Friend.”

The article, written by Linda Fairstein, who was a sex-crimes prosecutor for thirty years, shared her stories in hopes of getting the attention of women.

Maria Upmeyer, a sophomore who lives in McAuley said she woke up one morning to a man sleeping on her futon in just his boxers. It ended up being a boyfriend of a resident on campus; he had slept walked to Upmeyers room.
One story stuck out when thinking about the Mount Mercy campus.

The story described a 23-year-old female student in a quiet upper-Manhattan neighborhood.

The women was raped and tortured for 19 hours in her apartment. Before the alleged rapist left, he bound the woman’s wrists to a futon with a computer cable, and then set the futon on fire.

In this case, the woman was lucky to use the heat from the flames to melt the computer cord and escape to safety.

The man charged took advantage of someone’s act of politeness. To enter this woman’s apartment, you have to be buzzed in or have a key. A resident of the apartment let the man in behind them while on their own way in.

The apartment building is a lot like Mount Mercy’s campus and dorm buildings. After midnight the doors are locked and you have to have a key to enter.

How many times have you held the door for someone behind you? Unless you recognize that person, and know that they belong here, you should just keep walking, and let the door shut behind you.

During her years as a sex-crimes prosecutor, one thing that Fairstein said was common in all the women she worked with was that they all encounter the instinct of fear.

“Many of these women described feeling a distinct current of fear when confronted with a stranger,” said Fairstein in Cosmopolitan. “But a lifetime of conditioning to be well mannered, give people the benefit of the doubt, not appear paranoid, or not seem like a racist- convinced them to ignore their instincts.”

So next time you are unsure, or have a bad feeling. Go with your gut, it could save your life. Whose feelings are you going to hurt by not holding the door open for them? A stranger? It doesn’t quite seem worth it.

Rusty Rogerson, director of safety and security for Mount Mercy says you are only as safe as you make yourself. “Increasing your level of safety is your responsibility.”

Campus security is here 24/7 365 days a year. Each entrance has cameras and there are a variety of places where surveillance is watched.

You can breathe a sigh of relief due to the security measures that are enforced here on campus, but don’t think you are in a safe zone.

Rogerson says there have been reports of people who weren’t students or employees on campus, but people wait until a day later to tell security. Then they can’t do anything.

Many students on campus leave their doors unlocked or open, leaving them susceptible to danger.

Current and past RAs both reported that they have heard reports of things being stolen out of rooms.

“When students leave their door open or unlocked they’re asking for their stuff to get stolen, or they’re putting themselves in a dangerous position,” says Rogerson.

Rogerson said that if you have roommate, tell them where you are going, and when you will be back, that way if you aren’t back in time, questions can be asked.

“If you see someone you haven’t seen then you have a responsibility to yourself and to everyone else to call security and have someone check on it.”