As many of us know, University housing is unnecessarily expensive. It’s also largely without benefits. Due to this, many college students choose to live in off-campus housing that surrounds the University. On almost every corner outside of campus, there is an option for students to sign an air-tight lease.
With the many promotions these complexes run combined with their seemingly low rates, it’s a college student’s dream. Add in the awesome amenities and fully-furnished rooms and it’s hard to beat. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. The biggest being safety.
In September, English junior Kelsi Flores was robbed at Wildwood Apartments, one of the many complexes along Nicholson and Ben Hur. Flores was leaving for her 5 a.m. shift when she was approached by a male who held her at gunpoint. The male took Flores’ car and she contacted authorities. Baton Rouge Police Department made an arrest six days later.
Other students have described their horrible, sometimes life-threatening, experiences across various pages for student groups. One student posted a video of two men breaking into her apartment at an apartment along Ben Hur, in hopes someone would recognize them.
There are many students who have posted pictures of broken car windows after having their cars being broken into overnight. An incredibly terrifying account posted on Twitter described a resident of a student-living complex waking up to a man on the side of her bed. She also said her apartment complex hardly did anything about it.
In any living environment, there are certain risks associated with living there. There are some more-so than others. I don’t claim to think like a criminal mastermind, but I find it hard to believe thieves believe college students to have any extraordinarily valuable possessions. However, the frequency of these crimes is what concerns me. Student-living complexes don’t take the necessary precautions to ensure student safety. Their lack of prevention or assistance in regard to these type of situations is evident.
The lack of entrance and exit gates at many of the complexes surrounding campus is also alarming. This allows anyone open access into the complexes, giving them the option to choose a residence at random to do their dirty work.
Some crimes are committed by perpetrators on foot, but installing gates at entrances and exits would definitely help in aiding crime prevention. Frankly, these complexes make too much money off students not to have gates. Gates are a reasonable security measure, and it’s lazy on behalf of these complexes not to have them.
The apartment complexes do have cameras, but many of them don’t work or only cover limited areas of the complex. That’s a head-scratcher right there. Many complexes don’t have cameras in their parking lots or outside of the building. If they do, they don’t work. Identification goes a long way in making an arrest in crime incidents. Unless you’re face-to-face with the assailant and are able to identify them, cameras are the only reasonable way to identify criminals.
Complexes claim to have around-the-clock security. However, it’s usually a rent-a-cop. When I lived on campus, I could count on various cop cars patrolling at any given time. I’m not sure how much this affected crime, but it definitely made me feel safer. Having an actual cop around hardly seems unreasonable.
The University and the surrounding areas are not well-lit. Many complexes are built along dark stretches of road, and once you’re in the complex, it’s even darker.
Student living complexes pocket a large amount of money from residents and could afford any of the solutions proposed. While the amenities and the apartments are nice, safety should be the top concern all-around. Implementing a few safety measures could go a long way in reducing crime on and around campus.
Maya Stevenson is a 19-year-old English and economics sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
