UMass Amherst Students Fear For Safety

A recent string of sexual assaults at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has left many students there and at neighboring Amherst College fearful for their safety and critical of the university's response.

Since Nov. 2, four women have reported instances of sexual assault--including two reported rapes-- on the UMass campus. Three of these attacks occurred on successive Tuesdays, leading police to believe that they are connected.

Additionally, Amherst police said that two Amherst students reported being pursued by unidentified men this month, although no physical contact occurred.

Although police have released descriptions of each of the alleged perpetrators, they have made no arrests.

Students at both colleges said that the recent attacks have created an atmosphere of fear around campus.

"After five o'clock, no woman walks anywhere alone," Amherst junior Nicole E. Huvelle said. "Everyone's in shock."

"People are avoiding campus; they're avoiding class," said UMass student Eleanor M. Jerome, who is also the attorney general for the university's student government.

Since all of the Tuesday assaults occurred before 7 p.m., Jerome said, women are afraid to go out alone even during daylight hours.

Students at both schools responded to the incidents with a pair of rallies protesting sexual assault in the past week.

The UMass student government co-sponsored a student rally last Tuesday with the university's Everywoman's Center. Center Director Carol S. Wallace said the rally served to publicize the incidents and educate people about sexual assault.

"We wanted to give people a forum to make whatever statements they wanted to make," Wallace said.

Wallace estimated that about 500 UMass and Amherst College students attended the rally.

And on Monday, Wallace said, 400 people attended an independent demonstration to criticize the administration's handling of the crisis.

Participants in the demonstration walked out of classes at 12:30 p.m. and formed a ring around the pond near the center of campus where two of the assaults occurred.

Some students, however, felt that a UMass-sponsored rally did not make up for what they felt was the university's sluggish response to the assaults.

In particular, students complained that administrative action did not begin until it was clear the assaults were part of a trend.

"In the beginning, [university response] was very poor," Jerome said. "They were treating [the first rape] as an isolated incident and found no reason to alert the community."

UMass spokesperson Barbara A. Pitoniak defended the university's decision to delay any special response until after the second reported rape.

"Public safety did what they normally do," Pitoniak said. "They put out a public safety alert and began their investigation."

Yet Pitoniak also said she found the student-organized rallies valuable. "I think they're effective in the sense that other ideas will probably come out of them," Pitoniak said.

Wallace also supported the university's policies.

"We probably have one of the strongest campus-based rape crisis programs in the country," Wallace said.

In a letter to students and parents, UMass chancellor David K. Scott outlined several actions taken by the administration in response to the "unprecedented" recent assaults.

Scott said the university has increased security patrols, asked faculty to raise the issue of safety in every class, and ordered 1,500 personal "shriek" alarms which will be distributed free to students and employees. The alarms make loud noises when triggered.

The university also addressed a primary complaint of students by extending its shuttle escort service to 24 hours a day.

Many students expressed concern that the university had only evening escort service before the attacks.

Wallace blamed the lack of continuous service on underfunding. She acknowledged, however, that the program had been insufficiently funded prior to the assaults.

Not all students are disappointed with UMass's response.

"I think the response has been pretty strong," Huvelle said. Huvelle said she was specifically pleased with Amherst's response, although she found nothing particularly wrong with UMass's either.

Students currently content with the university's reaction, however, may find that their satisfaction is short-lived.

University spokespersons emphasized that all actions implemented were temporary. Pitoniak said that the measures outlined by Chancellor Scott were only guaranteed until the crisis ends, at which point "everything will be reassessed."

Pitoniak said she did not know how officials would decide when the crisis had passed and the university would return to its normal precautions.

Members of Harvard's Coalition Against Sexual Violence expressed mixed reactions to UMass's policies.

Kaitlin S. McGaw '00, the group's co-leader praised the university's decision to provide education on sexual assault specifically geared to men.

On the other hand, McGaw said that any policies must not just be temporary measures.

"I would hope they would continue with progressive educational efforts throughout the years to come," McGaw said. "This is an issue that unfortunately will not go away."