Ally Siebenmann@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Siebenmann@@, a University senior, was at her boyfriend’s house when she got a frantic call from her roommate. The voice on the other end was bawling, but Siebenmann was able to make at least one thing clear: Their apartment had been broken into.
Siebenmann’s roommate, Camille, who had just returned to their apartment on East 17th Avenue, came back home from dinner to discover that her laptop was missing, along with Siebenmann’s iPod, an old cellphone, a pearl necklace and other bits of jewelry.
A quick survey of the apartment revealed that the burglar came in through a window that had been cracked open. The locking mechanisms attached to the windows automatically click into place when the window is completely shut. But, if the window is not slid all the way over, the lock will not engage. An impatient college student ready to get out for the night could easily overlook the centimeters between safety and danger.@@nice wording@@
The two called the police as soon as they could. An officer was in the area within 15 minutes and began writing a report on the situation. After fingerprinting the windows, the officer concluded that the perpetrator was wearing gloves and therefore did not leave any evidence.
“I’m assuming they got away with it,” Siebenmann said.
The West University Neighborhood, which runs from Pearl Street to Kincaid Street and from Franklin Boulevard to East 19th Avenue, is Eugene’s hotbed for crime. It is such a hotbed, in fact, that the Eugene Police Department deployed a West University Public Safety @@http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&parentid=0&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=657&PageID=1394@@unit, complete with officers and crime prevention specialists dedicated to helping inform and educate student renters on their rights and how they can protect themselves.
“I would say that throughout the city, West University has a higher crime rate than any other part,” said Steven Chambers, a crime prevention specialist for the neighborhood@@His business card says “Steven” and an email he sent specifically states he works in the West University area http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=275&PageID=0@@. “You have a lot of people living in a small area. It’s a perfect target.”
According to Eugene Neighborhood Assessment and Planning, out of an estimated total neighborhood population of 6,748 in a 248 acre area (approximately 7 people per 10 square yards), 99 percent of the West University Neighborhood are renters, and of that 99 percent, 84 percent are between the ages of 18 and 24.
The overwhelming number of college-aged students in the area presents the problem of safety for a young community. Between unlocked doors, unaccompanied transit and unsafe alcohol consumption, criminals and opportunists see the student population in the West University Neighborhood like a coyote would see a snared deer: free, easy and quick.
Who those opportunists are, though, is up for debate. Andy McClain@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Andrew+M+McClain+@@ and Sean Williamson@@http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=549734462@@, University juniors and residents living in the West University Neighborhood, are quick to point out that students — and the parties they attend — are the biggest problem. The residents had a laptop stolen while they were present in their house during a party. On other occasions, their cars have been broken into and their property vandalized.
A trespasser cut the bedroom window screen at Andy McClain’s house on East 15th Avenue and Patterson Street over winter break looking for a place to sleep. Burglars have broken into McClain’s house multiple times since the residents moved in at the beginning of the school year. (Michael Ciaglo/Oregon Daily Emerald)
“I think that the stuff that happens on the weekdays you can account to the bums,” McClain said. “On the weekends, it’s a throw-up because it could either be drunk college kids or anyone else.”
The residence is not foreign to homeless break-ins either. Last winter break, the residents came back to find all of their window screens slashed and a window open. A heater was turned on and McClain’s bed was unmade.
It was evident that their house was broken into during their month-long absence by a homeless person seeking shelter, being as the valuable items in the house — the television and sound system — were left untouched.
“They might have been looking for small things that they could take out with them,” McClain said, shrugging his shoulders.
In the neighborhood, there is a healthy mix of houses, apartments, businesses and religious establishments, all of which experience crime to an extent. Much of the crime is simply behavioral crimes from college students — minor in possession, open container, etc. But the crime with the biggest impact, at least for students, is not associated with drinking.
From the city’s alley-filled layout to the resources in the neighborhood available to homeless people, and from the temporary student population and the absentee property owners, the West University Neighborhood is in a uniquely precarious position.
