Pitt must address safety concerns before others are hurt

University officials need to get their acts together before more people get hurt.

Crimes are… University officials need to get their acts together before more people get hurt.

Crimes are bound to happen, particularly on a city campus, and the University can’t be held culpable just because there are bad people in the world.

Pitt is responsible, however, to respond to those crimes, eliminate unnecessary risks, and be sure the same thing doesn’t happen twice.

The duty is twofold: Pitt leaders must take preventative measures to keep crime at a minimum, and they must react quickly when a crime occurs.

From the events of the last few weeks, it appears the people we count on have failed in both duties.

Following a sexual assault two weeks ago near three broken lights on University Drive, an employee at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic said he had filed multiple requests in the past several months that the lights be fixed. Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill responded that Pitt never received any previous complaints about the lights.

Last Friday, an anonymous source in the University reported that on Aug. 14, a Pitt engineer called Facilities Management to alert them that the bulbs weren’t working. Ten days later, on Aug. 24, a University Facilities Management electrician signed off on the lights as repaired.

Unfortunately, it seems neglect of this sort occurs often in the University. It’s worth noting that it took 10 days just for the report to get attention from an electrician.

An unlit area in a secluded place sets students up to be victims – someone easily could have been attacked before the report received any notice. University managers cannot allow important repairs to sit unattended.

After a sexual assault and multiple news stories, no Pitt official has come forth to provide a satisfactory explanation. As students, we deserve to know how something like this could happen. We need reassurance that the same thing won’t continue to happen.

I believe the safety system at Pitt is generally effective. With services like Van Call and the emergency lights system, Pitt’s policy clearly aims to keep us safe. But if such safety measures are not maintained, they won’t do us any good.

This incident is just one example of the trouble students and faculty face every day when trying to work through the University system.

Each year, thousands of students pass through Pitt, and it’s easy to get lost in a system this big. Whether getting through scheduling, making an appointment or filing a complaint, students and faculty encounter problems getting through Pitt’s administrative system. Some students become frustrated enough to leave, turning instead to a smaller school where they have hope of getting a response.

Students looking for help from a particular department may find several names and numbers, even when there’s only one person qualified to field the call. It’s difficult to get in touch with knowledgeable people within the University, but it’s also hard just to figure out whom those knowledgeable people are.

Pitt officials should not be satisfied with such a faulty system in any case, but recent events show that something’s critically wrong with the security system at the University. Whether the fault lies in poor communication, apathy or sloppiness, we must identify the problems in order to fix them.

We need major reforms. There needs to be an easier way to file reports. Students should be able to know exactly whom to contact for particular concerns, and they need an outlet to check up on such reports to make sure that they get the attention needed.

Pitt officials should take responsibility for their negligence in the most recent sexual assault – they only make themselves look worse by trying to cover up at this point. I’d prefer to hear about what’s being done to avoid future problems than about what did or didn’t go wrong in the past.

If we can’t work with Pitt to get things done, students really will remain in the dark.

Columnist J. Elizabeth Strohm is easy to reach and tries not to lose any requests. E-mail her at jestrohm@pittnews.com.