Students navigate campus each day with an expectation of safety. Feeling confident in our safety and feeling safe begins with understanding the information available to us. Each year, Andrews University publishes its Campus Safety’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report to keep students informed about the campus and the environment in which they live. At first glance, these reports can seem routine, with long tables of numbers, policy descriptions and legal compliance language. At the Andrews University Student Association (AUSA) Town Hall meeting on Nov. 12, students had the opportunity to ask questions about one of the most striking parts of the latest report: a noticeable increase in reported crime.
An important question was raised to Ben Panigot, assistant vice president of Campus Safety, at the AUSA Town Hall meeting: How can campus safety explain the rise in reported burglaries to double digits, and does this reflect an actual increase in crime on campus? The concern is understandable, as this is the first time since 2022 that we have seen on-campus reported crimes spike into double digits.
Panigot emphasized the importance of understanding how incidents are classified and recorded. “When we talk about burglaries or crime statistics, how we word things and how we report them are really important factors,” he explained. He clarified that this year’s increase did not represent 14 separate break-ins. Instead, the reports mostly stemmed from a single child repeatedly accessing a secured storage area and taking candy bars. However, this does not account for one of the burglaries that reportedly happened in student housing. “Statistically, we report that as a burglary because the individual was not authorized to be in that room,” he said. “But every time they do it, it’s a reportable crime.”
For many students, including myself, this was the first time hearing how a single repeated crime could so dramatically affect the numbers. This also highlighted why understanding Clery Act guidelines matters. He informed us that universities are required to follow strict federal definitions, even when those definitions do not perfectly reflect the number of crimes that occurred, simply because of how they must be categorized. Recognizing these details can help students feel more informed and in control of their safety.
Panigot added that one incident can appear multiple times in the report, depending on where it occurred. “For example, if a single event happens at the Andrews University apartments, it must also be counted under the broader category of on-campus incidents.” Panigot emphasized the importance of understanding how the data is aggregated, “as this can create the appearance of higher numbers even when the number of actual events has not changed.”
As the university continues to refine how the crime data is recorded and presented for future reports, Panigot assured students that campus safety hopes to make future reports more accessible and easier to interpret. “We’ve talked about ways to provide more context for some of these numbers,” he concluded at the Town Hall.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.