As classes resumed on Creighton’s campus this fall, Public Safety kept busy responding to several reports of robberies — both on and around campus. This increase in crime-related activity fostered increased discussion about general campus safety and self-defense.
As Creighton’s on-campus patrol, Public Safety was alerted of these robberies late in the evening of Aug. 27. They were informed the week before of a robbery off campus, behind the hospital, and on this night of three that occurred on campus.
“[It was an] unusual event; we didn’t have any robberies in 2011 or 2012,” Public Safety director Rick McAuliffe said. “We just had a sudden rash of activity. It’s a bit of an anomaly, and I don’t ever recall a time in Omaha when we’ve had a rash of robberies across
the city.”
Besides Creighton’s campus, UNO, the Metro Community College area, Midtown Crossing, Askarben and the Crossroads area have all had robberies in recent weeks. The Creighton-related robberies included one near 23rd and Cumming, as well as 23rd and Chicago, near Kenefick.
“[It’s] really an unusual event that caused a lot of anxiety across town,” McAuliffe said. “Everybody is taking it very seriously.”
Arts & Sciences sophomore Marc Cubrich was one of the students that was robbed on the night of Aug. 27. Cubrich was on his way home to Heider Hall, and was walking past the Corner Creperie when he was approached.
“A car passed me on my left, and I didn’t pay attention to it,” Cubrich said. “I look back and there are two guys running at me. As soon as they were running at me, I was like ‘Oh, no.’ There were two of them, one on my right, one on my left.”
The robbers told Cubrich to give them his phone and wallet. After handing over his phone, which he had in his hand, he told them he didn’t have his wallet on him. They tussled with his backpack a bit before returning to their car.
“It happened super quickly, but they got kind of nervous,” Cubrich said. “[They said] ‘Don’t look at us, we have guns. We’ll shoot you’. You’re not going to question them, but they didn’t look like super real guns.”
After the confrontation, Cubrich said he was able to get most of the license plate number, which dangled off the car, and a description of the type of car that it was. He then ran back to Heider, where he called Public Safety, followed by the Omaha Police Department. He filed a report and, later, spoke to a detective.
Cubrich, who is from the Omaha area, said he is not a nervous person, overall.
“I felt safe before, too,” Cubrich said. “It can happen anywhere. It makes me a little more cautious, but you can’t let that control you too much. It’s definitely made me a little more weary, but I still feel safe on campus.”
Cubrich said that in the moment, you’re not really thinking, especially when it happens so quickly.
“I stayed pretty level headed,” Cubrich said. “I feel like I remained pretty calm; I wouldn’t change anything I did. Maybe pay more attention to my surroundings, for sure.”
On the evening that the incidents took place, the Department of Residence Life took action to inform other residents on campus.
“Staff in the halls walked the floors to let students know of the threat, and to encourage smart travel behaviors, like use of the shuttle,” said Associate Director of Residence Life Kimberly Grassmeyer. “That was the immediate system-wide response — do our best to minimize the chance that anyone else would be victimized.”
In addition to this overall act, the Department of Residence Life took it a step further and reached out to the students involved, and began the discussion of general safety.
“Although we want to inform folks of incidents, we also want them to not panic; Creighton ‘proper’ is a very safe campus,” Grassmeyer said. “So, we advise staff to be good mentors and models for the residents around being smart, and of course ask them to remind folks of the general safety rules that Public Safety shares and encourage them to take the situation seriously in one-on-one discussions or in small group meetings.”
Being the first ones to respond to these situations, Public Safety said they would advise reacting the way Cubrich did, to hand over personal possessions when asked.
“If it does happen to you, give up whatever they ask for,” said Officer Gomez, a Public Safety officer. “Bibles aren’t worth your life, [or] any case in between that.”
McAuliffe agrees, emphasizing the importance of it.
“Be compliant, and put distance between you and the suspect, and then report it right away,” he said.
What Public Safety officials want to emphasize to students is that they are not immune because they are a part of a campus in a populated area. Simply paying attention to one’s surroundings can help immensely.
“Just recognize that we are in an urban environment, an open environment, and whatever happens out there can happen here,” McAuliffe said.
“It may not happen every year, and then we have three instances in a night,” McAuliffe said. “Be aware that things can happen regardless where you are, whether on campus or off campus.”
Public Safety officials, who often present to clubs and organizations on campus about basic safety and self-defense, advise students to be more aware.
“Don’t be on the phone, don’t have your headset on, just be alert and ready to act appropriately,” McAuliffe said. “Be aware of the resources you have, the shuttles and taxi services, call for an escort. Walk in groups, don’t walk alone at night, know where the emergency phones are.”
Taking these basic ideas one step further, Public Safety has been partnering with the graduate school to begin to offer self-defense classes, open to both graduate and undergraduate students.
“They utilize two staff members that are degreed black belts, and they take the class through a whirlwind, one hour, basic moves … a brief skill set to get people knowledge on how to get away,” Gomez said.
The program is in its early stages, so the classes normally get filled by graduate students. However, Public Safety have been expanding the program from just self defense classes to much more, including education segments.
“The format we are doing now is I will present a slideshow, give some topics and then everybody gets up and [does] some hands on,” Gomez said.
The sessions are also open to staff and employees, and last for an hour, once a month.
In order to begin to recover from these threatening occurrences, Public Safety officials encourage students to also take care of themselves after an instance by talking to someone or seeking out resources.
“After the event, some people can be traumatized, and the university has a lot of resources in assisting people to cope,” McAuliffe said. “Whether it’s the counseling center; we have a victims assistant group on campus.”
Though these situations cannot completely be avoided, McAuliffe thinks that as a campus community as well as Omaha community, students can help each other out. The office of Public Safety is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is a “catch all” for campus situations.
“Trust your instinct if you see people that look a little suspicious, and take that next step of calling them in,” McAuliffe said.