College Campus Crimes: Content Analysis Approach
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of model of term research paper
Nandi Harris
Mississippi Valley State University
Rochelle Cobbs
Victimology

When you think of the word victim, what exactly comes to mind? Someone who has been physically or mentally assaulted against their will? A person who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, right? Wrong, victims are people who have undergone a heinous experience of which they will never be the same again. When one becomes a victim, a piece of one’s life is permanently snatched away from them. If it wasn’t life itself the most valuable attribute that has been stolen from them is their piece of mind. There are many people that have been victims of several crimes and some survivors don’t overcome their experiences so they end up living a life of fearfulness and paranoia. Victimology is defined as the study of these victims of crime and the psychological effects they have on them from their experience. Victims come in every shape and size known to man, a victim can be anywhere around you at any time or you could be the victim yourself. I believe crimes take a toll on people the most when they’re college students living on campus. There are several crimes reported each year in regards to on campus college students, from a student’s car being broken into, to a student being raped on campus, all the way to students being killed on campus. According to victimsofcrime.org, on college campuses—where young people face new pressures and dangers for the first time—students experience increasing targeted violence (attacks by known or knowable attackers) such as forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robberies, as enrollment in institutions of higher learning rises. The majority of crimes—which are property crimes such as burglary and motor vehicle theft—take place on campuses rather than off campus (school and campus crime). These crimes are of the utmost importance because they target students who are young, naive, and generally fresh to even the idea of living independently.
The future of America rests in the hands of young people who aren’t afraid to dream big and to venture into the unknown all alone. Some would say the first step in doing so is leaving all family and friends behind to become a part of a college or university filled with exciting new opportunities, and unknown challenges. Students that become the victims of even the smallest crime have confidence stolen away from them. The very ingredient that ignites an outgoing and creative lifestyle is now stifled because of one “small” crime. This would then lead a once active and vibrant student to solitude.
According to What Are College Student’s Perceptions About Campus Safety, In the spring of 1986, a college student at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania was awakened from her sleep in her dorm room by an assailant who brutally raped and beat her to death. This resulted in what is known today as the Clery Act, or Student-Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990. “The Effect of the Clery Act on Campus Judicial Practices” stated: Congress has begun its work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Amendments in 2003-2004, dealing with one of the issues of the Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act (Public Law 101-542). Of particular importance to student affairs and law enforcement personnel on American campuses is Title II of this Act, now titled the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (hereafter Clery Act or Clery) (20 USC 1092 (f)). The law, previously known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, deals with requirements that institutions of higher education annually publish statistics regarding criminal activity that occurs on and around their campuses (Gregory & Janosik, 2003) (Chekwa, 326.). The law now requires all public institutions devoted to higher education maintain a daily crime log and to publish annual reports that include campus crime statistics, and security policies. The death of a student led to several laws to be enacted in regards to on campus crime, because of these new laws it possibly prevented even more homicides on college campuses.

References
1. School and Campus Crime. (2013). Retrieved September 25, 2015, from http://victimsofcrime.org/
2. Chekwa, C., Thomas, E., & Jones, V. (2013). What Are College Student's Perception About Campus Safety. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 6(3), 326-326.