Of the 1,192 Marshall students surveyed by Housing and Residence Life earlier in the academic year, more than 80% said they were “moderately satisfied” or “very satisfied” with how safe they felt in their residence halls and in their individual rooms, according to Mistie Bibbee, director of housing and residence life at Marshall. Of that same group, about 40% of students similarly rated how safe they felt walking at night, she said.
In response, Marshall has begun a series of on-campus improvements, said Dale Osburn, director of physical plant. While a recent, contracted lighting survey confirmed that the Huntington campus’ lighting was in “excellent shape,” Osburn said that his office has allocated resources to upgrade outdoor fixtures across the Huntington campus.
“Through a departmental lean-management project, physical plant has enlisted two employees to provide full-time focus to outdoor lighting,” Osburn said. “In addition to all campus lights being updated to LED lighting, we will be removing all dark lenses on campus and replacing them with clear lenses.” He added that another focus will be on trimming tree branches to promote open viewing.
Bibbee said her staff will hold safety sessions with students beginning in the fall to address personal safety and notify students of health and safety resources on campus.
In an emergency, the Marshall University Police Department force is staffed 24/7 and can be reached by calling 304-696-HELP, and the more than 30 emergency phones located throughout campus on frequently traveled pathways immediately connect passersby with an MUPD dispatcher. In less severe situations, Marshall’s police officers are available to escort students to and from their cars, residence halls and classes. Marshall’s Counseling Center, substance abuse prevention education, and sexual assault support are available to all students. Finally, MUPD officers lead classes in self-defense for students, and in 2015, the campus adopted Green Dot, a program measurably and systematically reducing power-based personal violence by shifting the culture.
“Many students don’t know all the people and resources available to them,” Matt Jarvis, president of Marshall’s student body, said. “For example, one of the most important things I want students to know is that they don’t have to walk off campus at night.”
Last year the Student Government Association was instrumental in bringing about the university’s TTA bus, The Green Machine, which provides a special route for students and runs Monday through Thursday until midnight, and until 3 a.m. from Friday to Sunday. Through the university’s partnership with the Tri-State Transit Authority, students can ride any of the routes on the system’s regional line.
To help address off-campus security, Marshall President Jerome Gilbert and Jarvis are slated to join Huntington Mayor Steve Williams on a special Marshall “Walks with the Mayor” Wednesday, May 3. The group will be accompanied by city council members; representatives from the city’s police, fire, public works, and planning and development offices; and a code enforcement officer.
“We know there is crime every so often, but compared to other places, Huntington is relatively safe,” Jarvis said.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics, the Cabell County Sheriff Department reported 17 violent crimes in 2014, the last year of data reported. Charleston, West Virginia, which is the most densely populated city in the Mountain State with about 1,000 more residents than Huntington, reported a total of 296 violent crimes between the South Charleston Police Department and the Kanawha County Sheriff Department during that same year. The third and fourth most populous cities—Parkersburg and Morgantown—reported 89 and 81 violent crimes, respectively. Huntington saw less total property crime that year, too, with 711 offenses. Charleston reported 2395 property crimes in 2014, Parkersburg reported 1,071, and Morgantown reported 813.