Pace University City Campus Rated Third Safest School in U.S.

Student+taking+in+a+view+of+the+city+%28Courtesy+of+Pexels%29

Student taking in a view of the city (Courtesy of Pexels)

Lia Tassinari, Copy Editor

“Rent College Pads,” a website where college students can find on or off-campus housing, has rated Pace University’s city campus the third safest school in America after Concordia University in Wisconsin and Brigham University in Idaho.

According to Pace University’s New York City campus Dean for Students, Marijo Russell O’Grady, this is due to Pace’s security team.

“We are thrilled to be the third safest university in the nation and the safest in the NYC metropolitan area. Our twenty-four-seven, three-sixty-five security team with a presence in every building and every residence hall, visitor pass and overnight guest systems, and an exceptional and visible student affairs presence helps to create a responsible and safe community,” O’Grady said.

According to Pace’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report for 2015, among crime statistics, sexual assault is the third highest offense after drug abuse violations and liquor law violations. There were four sexual offenses at the Pleasantville/Briarcliff campus and six at the New York City campus. However the Director of the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Education, Mary Breen, understands that not all crimes are reported.

“We know statistically that less than five percent of crimes are reported,” Breen said. “I’m not saying there [are] a lot of crimes here, but I’m saying there is definitely unreported crimes in terms of sexual assault. However, our reported crimes are very low.”

According to Breen, the locations of sexual assaults on college campuses generally occur in residential areas.

“This goes across the board but I believe sixty percent of sexual assaults on college campuses occur in resident halls. I don’t know exactly what the statistics are on this campus [of reported sexual assaults],” Breen said.

Pace student and resident in a Pleasantville townhouse, Maria Biondi, said that she feels security has been “doing their job” in keeping the Pleasantville campus safe.

“This has been my second year in the townhouses and I can honestly say that security on campus does make me feel safe. They do a good job in monitoring the townhouses throughout the week, which is just as important as the weekends,” Biondi said.

However, Biondi said more measures should be taken to monitor who enters campus and that there should be more security in the classrooms during the week.

“My only concern about security is in their monitoring of who enters campus since there isn’t always someone in the booth when you enter. It does make me feel safer when they check for identification on the [weekdays] to see if you are a Pace student,” Biondi said. “I think it is just as important for them to monitor the academic buildings like they monitor the townhouses on the weekends.”

On the New York City campus, residents and students are aware that there is a security guard present to check the identification of anyone who enters the building. Similarly, at the Pleasantville/Briarcliff campus, residents and students are familiar with seeing a security guard in a booth at one of the three entrances do the same.

Pace’s Executive Director of Safety and Security, Vincent Beatty, was not available for comment.