A week ago, the Washington University Police Department responded to an assault incident in Myers dormitory. They discovered that the assailant had knocked on a student’s suite door. When the student answered, the assailant entered the suite, proceeding to rob and sexually assault the victim. The incident has resonated on campus throughout the week and it has brought disconcerting security issues to the foreground.

Handling this sensitive and troubling incident is an incredibly challenging task. The Washington University Police Department and Office Residential Life have stepped up to that challenge. The two departments have been consistently transparent in their communications with students and thorough in addressing security concerns. An incident of sexual assault is incredibly troubling to the University community; these organizations have taken appropriate steps to address our concerns.

Within hours of the assault incident, WUPD contacted students, informing them of the incident. They took visible steps towards ensuring student security, placing a security guard outside of Myers and posting crime alerts around campus. Police Chief Don Strom will appear on a campus security panel Tuesday night, furthering WUPD’s open communication with the student body. For the past week, WUPD has been consistently forthcoming and honest with the students they serve, keeping us informed and up to date on our campus’s security.

ResLife also took concrete steps towards enhanced security in order to prevent these incidents in the future. On Wednesday, they began installing peepholes in dormitories and by Friday, all doors on the South 40 were covered. ResLife recognized a security hazard on our campus and took immediate, direct steps to address it.

Furthermore, ResLife instructed Residential Advisors in all ResLife housing, even off-campus apartments, to hold mandatory security meetings to discuss issues of security and safety in response to this incident. The University’s action was quick and transparent; students could observe an immediate, obvious step to assuage security concerns. Moreover, the reaction was immediate, and with sufficient haste, as it took just two days for ResLife to install peepholes across the South 40.

We commend WUPD and ResLife for their expedient and fitting approach to addressing serious security concerns, as well as their cooperation. Other University administrators and departments would be well served to follow WUPD’s lead in other problems that surface in the future. Transparent and immediate action can be hard to come by on our campus; many attempts at action become entrenched in bureaucracy that can delay appropriate solutions. WUPD and ResLife showed how departments can work together to achieve goals in a timely matter, taking concrete steps that move towards tangible goals.

Securing a university campus, especially one in a metropolitan area like St. Louis, is by no means an easy task, and responding to an incident of sexual assault in our dormitories makes the matter even more pressing. WUPD and ResLife have been impressive with their immediate and concrete response to campus security flaws. They have set an example for how departments can effectively address student concerns, both security-related and otherwise, in the future.

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