On the University of Indianapolis campus two recent situations have been reported that involved concerns about the safety of UIndy students. In the most recent, a student reported that an individual was harassing her. The UIndy student said she was riding the city bus and encountered a stranger who stepped off the bus after she did and followed her to Good Hall.
In a situation prior, a student reported that two individuals were recording her without her permission. There were positive outcomes in both situations because the UIndy community was able to come together. On both occasions, Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli sent an email warning students about the situation and requesting help identifying the individuals.
After each email, the Campus Police received phone calls with information about the individuals almost immediately, and the individuals were dealt with.
Photo Illustration by Melvin Mendez
Chief of Police David Selby appreciated how the situations were handled.
“Those situations were handled quickly, and they were very well-handled,” Selby said. “And I give credit to my staff and the UIndy community. If we continue this partnership where the community works closely with the police, we can take care of most problems on campus.”
Selby said he was impressed with how the situation involving the individuals recording students was handled.
“In the incident with the YouTube video … we found out who it was very quickly,” Selby said. “The thing that I was most impressed with is that we sent out the picture of the people, and within five minutes, we had students calling us telling us who these people were.”
About the second situation, which occurred in Good Hall, Selby said the UIndy community also was beneficial.
“The community was very helpful,” he said. “I’ve been chief of two other institutions, and this is the fastest response I’ve ever gotten from students, and we had the individual identified…. This is the best community I’ve ever worked in. Everybody is eyes and ears for each other, everybody looks after each other’s back and everybody comes forward with information that we need to make this place a safer place.”
Vitangeli explained how the community came together for the safety of others.
“One of the things that we found through both of these incidents is that our community really does cares about one another. And in both situations, when we sent out a public service advisory, we were able to track down the individuals based on calls made by UIndy students,” Vitangeli said.
In case similar events take place in the future, Vitangeli offered advice on trying to prevent such events from happening.
“Look out for peculiar or odd behavior,” she said. “We always tell students to use your sixth sense. If you feel like something’s not right, or if you see something that’s odd, say something…. Call the police. Call an administrator. Let someone know what’s going on. Don’t be afraid to say something.”
