Campus Security warns of suspicious person, students discuss dorm parking
Photo by Rhianna Barrow.
On Thursday, Feb. 4, Campus Security Director Matthew Brinkman warned students via email about a suspicious person spotted on campus.
Brinkman said they have been working alongside the Cleveland Police Department in reference to the suspicious person, spotted outside Sharp-Davis Hall.
“The suspicious person was observed standing next to a student’s vehicle while the student was inside her vehicle. Shortly after that, the suspect got into a Gray Honda Accord (TN Tag #1V93J4) and left the area,” Brinkman’s email said.
The subject was last seen exiting campus near Butler Field and heading north on Ocoee Street.
“While we do not foresee any immediate threat, we feel that it is prudent to inform you and ask for your assistance in notifying us if you see suspicious persons or this vehicle on campus,” said Brinkman.
The release of this email has sparked a conversation about dorm parking lots and safety on campus.
McKenzie Willis, a sophomore nursing major, has lived in Sharp Davis for two years and has registered her car for that parking lot.
Willis explained that freshman students were given parking stickers at the beginning of the school year, allowing them to park in the back lot at Sharp-Davis. In previous years, this parking lot was reserved for upperclassmen.
The Sharp-Davis parking lot is comprised of 95 parking spaces, but there are 129 vehicles registered for the lot, according to Campus Security.
“It’s been freshmen and sophomores parking back there this whole year,” said Willis. “So it’s been even worse than last year. If that back parking lot is filled up, we have to get that front parallel parking or park behind the soccer field.”
Tyler Allen, assistant director of campus security, said the decision to allow underclassmen to park in the upperclassmen parking lots was a university decision.
“As part of a new parking project that the university is working on, allowing freshmen to park closer to their residence hall is phase one,” said Allen. “This parking plan will revamp the parking guidelines for all students. The university decided to make the change in two phases.”
Willis explained that the parallel parking, located in front of Sharp-Davis Hall on Church Street, often fills quickly and dorm residents are forced to park behind the soccer fields or in the North Cleveland Church of God parking lot.
“It’s very scary. There’ve been multiple times where it’s been late at night because I’ve been at work or I’m coming home from the weekend, and I have to go park behind the soccer field,” said Willis. “And I’ll call my parents, just so that I’m on the phone with someone while I’m walking.”
Willis and her friends will often risk receiving a ticket from Campus Security and park in the Dixon Center parking to ensure a safe walk back to their dorm.
“There’s been so many times where my friends are like ‘I’ll just get a ticket!’ and then park up there. We’re allowed to park there on the weekends, but then it's such a pain on Sunday night trying to find someplace else to park,” said Willis.
The parking lot, designated for commuting students, is available for student parking on the weekends. During the week, however, students risk a parking ticket if they choose to park there.
“The Dixon Center lot is used for a variety of things during the week. Our commuting students are the ones that utilize that parking lot the most during the week,” said Allen.
Jamey Ryan, a sophomore psychology and Spanish double major, has lived in Sharp-Davis since August 2020.
“My friends who have parked [in the Dixon lot] because they felt unsafe at night have gotten tickets, which ends up really picking up a bunch of money because each one is $25,” said Ryan.
The Dixon Center parking lot is comprised of 120 parking spaces, according to Campus Security. Ryan expressed interest in opening the parking lot to Sharp-Davis residents so they can avoid the dark walks across campus.
“I really feel like the problem would be fixed if we could just park in the front, I really feel like I wouldn't be as scared,” Ryan said.
Willis explained that most women have a natural instinct to pay attention to their surroundings when walking in the dark.
“I will just instinctively pay attention to what I’m listening to and where the shadows are cast on the ground in case I see a shadow behind me,” said Willis. “None of us walk alone. We always like to walk in packs. As girls, we’re literally told ‘don't walk alone.’”
Willis mentioned she has been catcalled when walking down Church Street and says the experience is not hers alone. Ryan said she has also been catcalled while walking on campus.
Since August, there have been six reported incidents of harassment, assault or intimidation on campus. This information can be found through the Lee University Daily Crime Log, made available through the Clery Act.
“Almost all of us have pepper spray or some sort of thing on our key chains,” said Willis.
In the state of Tennessee, it is legal to carry pepper spray without a permit, according to the United States Concealed Carry Association.
Campus Security is also available to escort students back to their dorms at night.
“We want anyone, not just females, to know that anytime they feel unsafe our team will give them a safety escort,” said Allen. “Or they can take advantage of the new LiveSafe app. The new app allows you to request a safety walk from a friend. It sends your friend your location and an estimated time you should arrive… This is a great way for our community to support one another.”
Avery Schenk is a freshman biology major that has lived in Sharp-Davis since the beginning of last semester. She said she felt scared when reading the email from Campus Security concerning the suspicious person.
“Anybody can walk on [to campus]. Anybody can walk up to your dorm, up to your window. With how old our dorm is, some of the windows, like, would they stay shut? Could somebody open them? Could anybody just break into the dorm?” said Schenk.
Ryan and Willis acknowledged the efforts Campus Security has enacted to ensure students’ safety. Ryan has called campus security for a ride back to her dorm.
“I’ve seen efforts, like the new app they came up with a couple of weeks ago. I can see the effort when it comes to safety,” said Willis. “But I also think we shouldn’t be scared to hold our people in authority accountable for things … We shouldn’t be scared to be like, ‘Hey, I'm not okay with this, and I think I need to know more.’”
Ryan said with the additional stress of school and COVID-19, students should not be stressed about walking across their campus at night.
“I feel like feeling safe at this school should be a priority,” said Ryan. “To prioritize one of the most vulnerable groups on campus by just opening a lot that's already empty, it would probably make us all feel safer and would take out a lot of stress.”
As of Monday, Feb. 8, there has been no follow up email from campus security concerning the suspicious person spotted near Sharp-Davis. To contact campus security, call (423) 303-4444 or email security@leeuniversity.edu.
