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UConn survey: 60 percent of students feel unsafe
Lindsey Fetzner
Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: News
A survey conducted during fall semester found that 669 (40 percent) of 1,667 students who responded to the question feel safe on campus.
The intent of the survey was to find out how safe undergraduates feel at UConn. It was conducted by three members of a feminist methodologists research class taught by Nancy Naples, professor of sociology. The course is required of all women's studies majors.
A similar survey was conducted in 2006 for the same class by a different group of students, but focused its attention on safety alone. This year's survey focused not only on safety, but also the added element of sexual assault.
The three students chose this topic for their research project before the two sexual assaults occurred on campus early last semester. With the aftermath of two occurrences, a lot of speculation resulted as well as the need for more discussion on the topic, making the survey results critical information to combat such events on campus.
One of the major impacts on safety is gender. When asked if they felt safe on campus, the majority of men responded that they do feel safe on campus.
Victoria Flagg, a 4th-semester women's studies major and collaborator on the survey, said there are big differences between men and women and their perceptions of safety. Even though there is a relatively even ratio of men to women on campus, 75 percent of the respondents to the survey were female. In total, 1,274 females took part in the survey, whereas only 410 males did.
"It is very easy for men to gloss over the issue and not think about it but that is not to say there is malicious intent," Flagg said.
The survey showed that women who were aware of various resources on campus were more inclined to feel safe but men who were aware of resources were less inclined to feel safe. Women tend to have the issue more readily in the back of their head, whereas men tend to think about the issues less often. As a result, the survey showed that men who think about their vulnerability are more apt to feel susceptible on campus.
The intent of the survey was to find out how safe undergraduates feel at UConn. It was conducted by three members of a feminist methodologists research class taught by Nancy Naples, professor of sociology. The course is required of all women's studies majors.
A similar survey was conducted in 2006 for the same class by a different group of students, but focused its attention on safety alone. This year's survey focused not only on safety, but also the added element of sexual assault.
The three students chose this topic for their research project before the two sexual assaults occurred on campus early last semester. With the aftermath of two occurrences, a lot of speculation resulted as well as the need for more discussion on the topic, making the survey results critical information to combat such events on campus.
One of the major impacts on safety is gender. When asked if they felt safe on campus, the majority of men responded that they do feel safe on campus.
Victoria Flagg, a 4th-semester women's studies major and collaborator on the survey, said there are big differences between men and women and their perceptions of safety. Even though there is a relatively even ratio of men to women on campus, 75 percent of the respondents to the survey were female. In total, 1,274 females took part in the survey, whereas only 410 males did.
"It is very easy for men to gloss over the issue and not think about it but that is not to say there is malicious intent," Flagg said.
The survey showed that women who were aware of various resources on campus were more inclined to feel safe but men who were aware of resources were less inclined to feel safe. Women tend to have the issue more readily in the back of their head, whereas men tend to think about the issues less often. As a result, the survey showed that men who think about their vulnerability are more apt to feel susceptible on campus.
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Nancy A. Naples
posted 1/24/09 @ 10:53 AM EST
To: Tara Cartwright, Interim Editor in Chief of the The Daily Campus - eic@dailycampus.com
My thanks to Lindsey Fetzner for her article, "UConn survey: 60 percent of students feel unsafe. (Continued…)
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