An analysis of FBI and CMU Police Department crime statistics shows 78
percent of the forcible rapes reported in Mount Pleasant last year
occurred on campus.

The FBI’s 2003 Uniform Crime Reports, released last week, stated
nine forcible rape crimes were reported last year.

Seven of those rapes reported were on campus, reports show. The same
number of forcible sex offenses occurred in 2002 on campus.

The statistics included information from CMU Police and local police
department agencies, but did not detail information about Union
Township, where many students reside in off-campus housing.

Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe said the high percentage of forcible
rape cases reported on the university’s campus is not a surprise.

“Nothing is gained by pretending that there aren’t incidents of
sexual aggression,” he said. “As a university, we need to acknowledge
such cases and do anything we can to prevent incidents of violent
crimes like rape from occurring.”

However, overall violent crime rates on campus are low in comparison
to the City of Mount Pleasant.

Of all the violent crime that occurred in 2003 in Mount Pleasant, 19
percent occurred on CMU’s campus.

Violent crime includes robbery, aggravated assault, rape and murder.

Robbery, aggravated assault and rape made up 19 percent of all
violent crimes

Roscoe said university police statistics don’t always paint a true
picture of crime on the CMU campus because some forcible rape incidents
go unreported.

However, more students are reporting cases of rape than in previous
years, he said.

“I think it might be that young women who attend CMU might have more
confidence in the court system and have more confidence in reporting
incidents of sex assaults than their peers who are not college
students,” Roscoe said.

Stephen Thompson, coordinator of Sexual Aggression Services, said
crimes of rape are an increasing concern for CMU.

“The high numbers of students reporting rape is a good thing, not a
bad thing,” Thompson said. “That is something we have been trying to
educate people on literally throughout the country.”

Sexual Assault Peer Advocates, a group of 40 CMU students, attempts
to prevent rapes on campus and assists victims of such assaults. The
program has been running since 1996.

“I think more students are feeling more comfortable coming to
this service for help and reporting to our campus police,” said
Thompson, who is SAPA’s adviser.

He said his peer advocates have dealt with more than 100 sexual
aggression cases to date this year. When the program started in 1996,
the peer advocates averaged one contact a month. Now, they average five
to six contacts a week.

Janice Klein, community policing officer for the CMU Police, said
she deals with educational programs covering topics like assaults for
various groups on campus.

Klein, who has advised victims of sexual assault, said rape is one
of the most underreported crimes at the university.

“I have advised students on how to stay safe and what the procedure
is when they come to our department for assistance,” Klein said. “Of
course, we encourage the rape victims to report the crime immediately
to police.”

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