By Lindsey Smith

Every Macalester student recently received the annual campus security report in an email from Terry Gorman, Director of Safety and Security. The report outlined various offenses and incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2011. The majority of the report demonstrated a generally safe campus — 80 percent of the categories documented five incidences or fewer, but there were several notable statistics. The number of liquor law violations referred for disciplinary action totaled 103 in 2011, less than half of the 2009 total. This sharp decline is encouraging to the numerous staff who work to create a safer environment for students. “The decline [in liquor law violations] is thanks to lots of people who are now paying more attention to people and the community,” Gorman said. He pointed to intensive training for the Residential Life staff, especially RAs, and a greater emphasis on community at Macalester, which causes students to think of the impact on their decisions on others. Gorman said that it takes various efforts to create a positive change of this nature. The report also showed a less significant decrease in drug law violations referred for disciplinary action from 2010 to 2011. Although this change did not demonstrate such a high rate of progress, Gorman said it could also be attributed to the additional efforts to emphasize community. “We’re always concerned about sex offenses, too,” Gorman said. There were two reported forcible sex offenses last year, down from seven offenses in 2010. Although this indicates a positive trend, Gorman said that there might be people who have been assaulted who did not report the incident. “Statistics can only tell us so much,” Gorman said. The statistics, however, suggest that Macalester is becoming an increasingly safe campus. refresh –>