The Reporter

'■•■' 2009 HUM /^©T]© zme Incidents per year Annual safety report released sgfmfi'j Eleanor Roy Managing Editor The overall number of on- campus crimes has gone down since 2009, according to Stetson's newly released 2012 Annual Security Report. Every year, universities that receive federal funding are required to report the number of crimes that occur on their campuses to the government under the Clery Act. Additionally, they must report any emergency procedures and policies that could affect students. Reported crimes range from murders and manslaughters to liquor law violations. While the number of overall incidents declined, the number of referrals for liquor law violations on campus dropped significantly, from 136 referrals in 2009 to 108 referrals in 2010 and 56 referrals last year, according to the report. "I think the [Public Safety] officers have been very diligent in their observations and such," Public Safety Captain John Szaroleta said. "But we have a very good working relationship this year both through the fraternities and also the residential life, and for that reason, I think, and for the educational stuff, that we're turning a corner." The number of referrals for illegal weapons possessions also dropped over the past three years from 11 in 2009 to eight in 2010. None were written in 2011, according to the report. The number of referrals written for drug law violations has remained relatively steady, increasing only slightly from 56 to 57 between 2010 and 2011. The 17-page security report outlines general procedures for filing a report about a crime at Stetson, including those regarding sexual assaults. It also lists all 40 emergency call box locations around campus. While the report doesn't list the number of registered sex offenders in the DeLand area, it does provide a website where anyone can obtain information about the registered sex offenders in a neighborhood. As of Monday, there were 10 registered sex offenders/predators who live within a one mile radius of campus. A copy of the report is available on Public Safety's website. Alcohol related EVACs and incident numbers are surprisingly low Eleanor Roy Managing Editor Despite speculation, the number of alcohol-related EVACs and incidents has been surprisingly low so far this semester, according to Public Safety Captain John Szaroleta. Rumors about a spike in alcohol-related student EVACs have been circulating since the first few days of FOCUS orientation, however, only two students have been EVAC'd due to alcohol poisoning. "That's way down this year," Szaroleta said. While there have been some alcohol confiscations, Szaroleta said he believes the number of incidents is relatively low compared to past years, although he did not have the numbers at the time of the interview to confirm this. "I'd like to think that has to do with education," Szaroleta said, adding that Public Safety has worked this year to establish a better relationship with Greek life and residen tial life in an attempt to cut down the amount of alcohol on campus. "We do work a little bit closer with the fraternities, Nate Burke and such. We will go in and talk to the fraternities any time they request our presence as far as to talk, to clarify the rules and regulations. And then working through the office of community standards, and Ben Falter and residential life," Szaroleta said. He added that the number of alcohol-related EVACs could potentially rise as the semester goes on because students tend to get more stressed closer to finals, leading some to binge drink. "You never can tell. It's almost like a cycle. I mean, if I try to prepare for what happened last year for this year, you'd be surprised; you've got a whole new bunch of students. It might change," he said. Szaroleta added that he thinks the low numbers of incidents could be a sign that we're "turning a corner" with risky behavior on campus. Greek community welcomes new members See more ohotos of oid reveal on Page 8