Brown and White Vol. 107 no. 19

              the brown and white lehigh university's student newspaper founded in 1894 vol 107 no 19 friday november 19 1999 all the lehigh news first assault leads to questions student concerns by elisabeth austin-page news writer dean of students office police say campus is safe but some students are not convinced news of a female student assaulted last thursday at 3:00 a.m on university drive near lamberton hall was made public in a safety alert bulletin and has since spread across campus in a mix of rumors and false information john smeaton vice provost for student affairs sent a safety bulletin last friday afternoon via electronic boards posted in stu dent e-mail smeaton said the bulletins are posted to provide timely information and prevent rumors as well as to raise awareness so students may take any necessary precau tions to keep themselves safe personal safety is number one smeaton said the female student was reportedly walk ing home alone when she was stopped and assaulted by three college-age students dri ving a blue car one man pushed her to the ground at which time the assailants saw a car in the area and drove away the student was not seriously injured and the report is under investigation by lehigh police smeaton emphasized the victim was not sexually assaulted and that according to reports this is an isolated event the first of its kind this school year lehigh police have not received any further news of a blue car approaching students smeaton said although any information that could be released was sent in the gener al e-mail several different versions of the assault have been traveling around campus it's disturbing that rumors are cropping up smeaton said lehigh chief of police edward shupp spoke with both the student senate and delta gamma sorority tuesday to address questions and concerns he urged any student with questions or information to call or visit the lehigh police station shupp said reported sexual assault inci dents are down but encouraged students to report any assaults immediately he said if students do not report crimes the university and police are unable to take legal action the first priority with such reports is to not disclose the individual's identity despite the fact that crime on campus is down by 30 percent this year smeaton and shupp had several safety precautions for students lehigh offers t.r.a.c.s take a ride around campus safely vans from 10 p.m to 2 a.m sunday through wednesday and 10 p.m to 3 a.m thursday through saturday the vans have a regular route that covers both the lehigh campus as well as off-cam pus areas in 10 minute intervals they said it is a good idea to always walk in numbers and along well-lit paths where there are blue-light safety phones use good common sense shupp said shupp said this also includes controlling alcohol intake if a student feels insecure of their sur roundings the police have an escort line 8 1111 that is answered by a police dispatcher the escort service does not guarantee a ride but will always provide an officer to take stu dents to their destinations the response time is approximately 10 minutes depending on any other calls that come in at that time officers are required to ask callers basic information including their name address phone number and social security number for liability safety and security reasons police are always patrolling the campus and immediate area there is no need for extra police smeaton said because there are foot-patrols bike patrols and two to three patrol cars at any given time in addi tion on saturday nights there are volunteer student bike patrols students can report rumors they have heard circulating and the police will investi gate them to the best of their ability rhonda arnof sky 02 has walked home alone before and thinks lehigh isn't doing a good job of making safety information public and clear i feel like i don't know what's really going on so you don't know what precau tions to take arnofsky said eileen epstein 02 has also walked home alone but has rethought that decision i usually think that lehigh's such a safe place but i'm definitely not going to walk home by myself epstein said safety alert bulletins take a proactive approach in protecting the welfare of students at the beginning of every year lehigh pub lishes a safety guide called playing it safe it includes a map of the t.r.a.c.s route lehigh's safety policies and campus crime sta tistics for the last three years available in admissions and the student affairs office shupp responded to student concerns he said just because you don't see them police doesn't mean they aren't there i think it's a very safe campus local school upgrades its technology by jennifer o'brien editor in chief a partnership between lehigh university and broughal middle school that gives broughal the opportunity to utilize money from an at&t foundation grant to provide greater access to the internet as a teaching aid was announced during a press conference wednesday the conference allowed broughal students to demonstrate the ways they have begun to utilize the internet in completing school projects and gave repre sentatives from the field of education the chance to speak on the merits of the grant eugene hickok secretary of education for the b&w photo by amanda henry nancy kvacky and her eighth grade class pose by their computer center in the library of broughal middle school see grant page 6 jmmmmmmmmmsmmmmmmmm ihihtiil lf ! m wkememmw qliicl bjp)p football prepares for panhel dance lehigh/lafeyette | \\ m lehigh/lafeyette marathon considered rivalry the battle 1 see page 20 a success continues n morrisville pa it is see page 3 see page 7 i,,e 9 al for women t0 sports 18-20 news 1-6 lifestyle 7-14 without a permit crew 18 world news briefs 2 culture corner 8 cross country 20 networking 4 astral signs 9 1 course pages 5 look who's talking 11 parkx^br^sesws.nl °" e9e