Recently I have found myself lying awake, unable to sleep at night. This insomnia is nothing that a healthy dose of NyQuil, or even Lunesta could help. Rather, my inability to sleep has been caused by an ongoing, yet unchallenged rash of property crimes that have targeted myself and my immediate neighbors at Spencer View Apartments. Mind you – I just moved here a few weeks ago, and know few of our residents, yet within the last week, I was painfully made aware of five crimes against fellow students in my immediate area. How many others may have occurred can only be guessed, as we are a large complex. Every single tenant on the ground floor of my building was a victim – one of purse theft and credit card fraud, one of auto theft, and myself, apparently the least of the victims, of bicycle trailer theft (an important issue when trying to transport toddler twins!). These crimes occurred night after night, yet our requests for extra patrols go unmet, due to “manpower shortages” that allow the criminal element to continue to target our student families.
I moved to Eugene because of its reputation as a safe and wholesome community, and would like to believe I made the right choice. Yet, when I see people routinely victimized, and an infrastructure that cannot respond to, or eliminate the problem, I question the choice I have made.
Susan Buchert
University student