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OSU serial rapist puts campus on edge
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by David Adlerstein
Thursday, October 17, 2002
A serial rapist is on the loose at the nation’s second-largest university, Ohio State, where the Columbus Police Department has reported five attacks dating back to early May.
The university and its students have taken protective measures. However, with the perpetrator still at large, the campus has yet to return to a sense of security.
The attacks have all followed a specific formula. All have occurred in the early morning, on campus or in a neighboring area. The assailant gained entry to the rooms of female students either through a door or an unlocked window.
The perpetrator is described as being in his 30s. Aside from that, authorities have gathered very little information on him.
In a coordinated effort, OSU and Columbus police have directed their efforts toward raising awareness of the issue of sexual assault.
“We have been communicating with students, faculty and staff,” a dispatcher for the OSU Police Department said. “We have held safety meetings in dorms, put fliers up around campus and put full-page ads in the student paper.”
The police have also instituted new protection and safety measures.
“We have been conducting a number of programs around campus for self-defense,” the dispatcher said. “Emergency phones are present throughout campus. We also handed out free screamers.”
A screamer is a personal safety device that emits an unbearably loud noise to ward off attackers.
OSU has also gone to great lengths to protect and inform its students.
“I think that it’s helpful for people to know what’s out there, to have the information,” said Elizabeth Conlisk, spokeswoman for OSU. “We have emphasized that it is important for students to protect themselves on campus. Students are much more aware now. They are always walking in pairs, never by themselves.”
In spite of the efforts of the university and police, a feeling of security has not been restored on the OSU campus. Female students have confessed that they are reluctant to leave their room or answer their door.
OSU does sponsor an escort service similar to the University of Wisconsin’s Safewalk program. Experts encourage UW students to request a Safewalk anytime they are uncomfortable or reluctant to walk alone and to avoid activities or behaviors that would make them susceptible to sexual assault.
“The vast majority of sexual assaults involve alcohol,” explained Brad Binder, a professor of biochemistry at UW and an expert on sexual-assault prevention. “Students should limit use of alcohol and other drugs.”
