Spring Break
University looks at additional safety measures, enrollment drops for text message alert system
Scott Stewart
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: News
Efforts to address security at residence halls are still under way at UNO more than a month after an attempted sexual assault on campus.
Around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, a male dressed in black passed through two unlocked doors to enter the bedroom of a female student at University Village. According to an Omaha police incident report, he told the resident "shh" and attempted to assault her, but the resident yelled "stop" and "don't" and then hit the man. The man then hit her face and ran out of the room, and one of the resident's roommates called 911.
As part of its response to the incident, the university held two town hall meetings on Sept. 9 to discuss safety issues with residents of University Village and Maverick Village. No one attended the first meeting at UV and only three students attended the second.
At those meetings, however, two announcements were made regarding efforts to improve security at the dorms. Rita Henry, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said the university would offer a non-credit self-defense class and improve the university's emergency text message alert system for campus residents.
Improvements to the text message alert system were made the day after the meeting. But so far only a handful of students have signed up for the dorm-specific notification lists.
The self-defense class, which will be instructed by UNO wrestling coach Mike Denney, is still in the works, Henry said. A letter will be sent to campus residences after the details have been finalized.
No plans have been made to schedule follow-up town hall meetings either. An additional meeting was planned after a typo was discovered in fliers announcing the Sept. 9 meeting at both University Village and Maverick Village.
University Village staff has made space available for another meeting, but no time has been set, wrote Lori Nantkes, regional director of Campus Living Villages, in an e-mail. Campus Living Villages is the company that manages University Village.
Around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, a male dressed in black passed through two unlocked doors to enter the bedroom of a female student at University Village. According to an Omaha police incident report, he told the resident "shh" and attempted to assault her, but the resident yelled "stop" and "don't" and then hit the man. The man then hit her face and ran out of the room, and one of the resident's roommates called 911.
As part of its response to the incident, the university held two town hall meetings on Sept. 9 to discuss safety issues with residents of University Village and Maverick Village. No one attended the first meeting at UV and only three students attended the second.
At those meetings, however, two announcements were made regarding efforts to improve security at the dorms. Rita Henry, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said the university would offer a non-credit self-defense class and improve the university's emergency text message alert system for campus residents.
Improvements to the text message alert system were made the day after the meeting. But so far only a handful of students have signed up for the dorm-specific notification lists.
The self-defense class, which will be instructed by UNO wrestling coach Mike Denney, is still in the works, Henry said. A letter will be sent to campus residences after the details have been finalized.
No plans have been made to schedule follow-up town hall meetings either. An additional meeting was planned after a typo was discovered in fliers announcing the Sept. 9 meeting at both University Village and Maverick Village.
University Village staff has made space available for another meeting, but no time has been set, wrote Lori Nantkes, regional director of Campus Living Villages, in an e-mail. Campus Living Villages is the company that manages University Village.
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jasonglades
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posted 2/13/09 @ 4:03 AM CST
University Village staff has made space available for another meeting. I attended it.
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