LYNCHBURG, VA - As the semester progresses at Lynchburg College, so too does the work of the security staff on campus. These reports increased significantly during the month of February, and most of the reports throughout the semester pertained to the use of alcohol on campus.
Image: Graph depicting the number of reports filed per month (Spring 2018).
These reports predominantly pertain to the use of alcohol on campus, specifically underage consumption, as can be seen in the two graphs below.
Image: Types of reports made to LC security during the Spring of 2018
Image: Most of the reports involved underage possession of alcohol on campus.
80% of reported alcohol violations involved underage possession, with 10% involving those over 21 giving alcohol to a minor.
Director of Security at Lynchburg College, Bob Driskill, offers insight into why these past few months may have seen such a high amount of alcohol violations in comparison with other reports. “First year students seem to hit the radar more often, whether it’s them traveling to or from a Southside event, whether it’s them drinking too much,” he said.
Driskill further explained that Campus Safety and Security isn’t relentlessly pursuing alcohol violations. They are often responding to calls from Resident Assistants (RAs) or other instances of reports.
Image: Graph displaying the places that have had the largest number of reports from those locations.
Tate Hall, a residence hall at Lynchburg is home to many first year students and is one of the dry dorms on campus, and has the largest number of reports this semester to date.
Endasia Mitchell, an RA on campus, said, “...I feel better about the safety of Lynchburg College because I know some of the security officers.” RAs work closely with Campus Safety and Security as part of their jobs, which means Mitchell has spent more time with them than most students.
In regards to the 12 fire drills that have happened this semester, Mitchell seemed more concerned with having a different kind of drill. “I feel like we should have more, like, active shooter drills or something like that, because we don’t really know what to do,” she said.
The Campus Safety logs can be accessed from the Lynchburg College website as part of the Jean Cleary Act, which requires campus security to disclose crimes and incidents reported on or near the campus.