For public safety, progress fights on


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A running joke depicts USC as the “University of Spoiled Children,” but to others, those letters also stand for the “University of Serious Crime.” Drivers instinctively lock their doors in the area; students and parents pore through College Confidential forums anxiously reading tales of theft and crime and every day, at 9 p.m., the campus gates close to insulate the student body from the surrounding community. Nonetheless, beyond the campus’s imposing architecture and beneath outdated perceptions of the elite University, there lies a story of change and progress through the years.

Despite depictions of a vulnerable campus threatened by crime, USC has consistently failed to crack lists of the most dangerous college campuses that include UC’s and Ivy League schools. In 2015, USC students reported 41 sex offenses, 59 cases of robbery (including motor vehicle theft and burglary) and nine incidents of aggravated assault on or near the University Park Campus, according to the Department of Public Safety’s Annual Security Report.

In the same vein, despite a steady reduction in crime over the years, the high-profile tragedies that do strike rock the campus and reverberate through the greater community. Three years ago, graduate student Xinran Ji was beaten to death by three local teenagers, and just this year, a student murdered neuroscience professor Bosco Tjan. Over the past several months, USC football has also made national news, not for cases of sexual assault involving several players.

Over the years, USC has developed a security apparatus that employs Los Angeles Police Department officers, off-campus ambassadors and a public safety force with a fleet of vehicles. E-alerts warn students of imminent danger, and daily press releases detail crimes and threats. Security cameras track movement and run license plates through national databases, and in 2015, the University partnered with Uber to provide free rides to students from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. within a two-mile radius of campus to bring them home safely.

Even with enhanced security, other less visible and reported threats such as catcalling, bike theft and hate crimes, both on and off campus, still threaten students’ sense of safety in their own homes. And many question why the yellow jackets that patrol our neighborhoods are merely required to report crime, instead of helping to prevent it or intervening.

In light of the progress made with ongoing challenges and threats, Trojans play a part in securing ourselves, our campus and our community against dangers through increased vigilance, awareness, reporting and sharing the burden of public safety with the administration and security force.

The conversation surrounding public safety at USC parallels that of the national level, with misconceptions dominating a debate over surveillance in our student body and surrounding community. And despite years of progress, similar to the halving of crime in the United States over the past few decades, recent well-profiled crimes damper hope and necessitate a unified effort on all fronts.

Safety comprises the second building block of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and indeed, a secure campus is a prerequisite and a continued necessity for the development of both students and the University. However, we must not be weighed down by the past because as our efforts have proven, progress marches — and in this case — fights on.