Students at Sacramento State University want to feel safe, protected and comfortable while walking around campus, especially after hearing about different safety concerns.

Kajal Singh, a criminal justice major at Sac State and an employee at the police department in Sacramento, said she feels somewhat safer during the day than at night. 

“We could always walk with a group of people,” Singh said, “but I think that if I was to not be walking with other people at later times, then I probably wouldn’t feel as safe, only because we hear about all the sexual violence that has been going on, like later in the day at school.”

Student Experiences with Sexual Violence on Campus

Sexual violence concerns have been gaining more attention these past few months and Sac State Students recently held a march against sexual violence in January. Students spoke out about the demand for change across a dark campus and planned the event as a response to sexual assaults that occurred last semester, in 2022.

“To be honest, I think I really only hear a lot about sexual violence,” Singh said. “Other than that, I don’t really hear anything else.”

Students describe different concerns about their safety and their experience with night-time classes along with other safety concerns addressed in campus-wide emails sent to students. Sophie Minter, a student at Sac State, said the time of day when she’s walking on campus can make a difference.

“I feel pretty safe,” Minter said. “But yeah, I do have a class at like 6 p.m. to 8:50 p.m., and earlier in the semester it would get dark sooner so I did walk fast and I felt a little bit unsafe. I mean, I heard of sexual assault incidents.”

Different Resources Available on Campus 

When it comes to different concerns about campus safety, knowing different available resources allows students to stay safe and away from violence, crime, assault and other suspicious activities. Resources are available when needed and emergency buttons are available all around the campus. 

“The emergency buttons like the lights we have on campus, the blue ones, are good resources,” Minter said. “I guess someone comes around and they have this escort service.” “…if you feel unsafe, just have a stun gun or pepper spray, I think.”

Ongoing Issues Being Addressed  

When there are campus safety concerns, students describe that the faculty does address the issue. However, with continuous concerns, the ongoing issues such as sexual violence will likely take time to resolve. Liliya Ivanov, a student and liberal arts major at Sac State, said she’s generally satisfied with the campus safety efforts.

“I feel mostly safe and I think that the campus does a pretty good job with making sure that if anyone does feel unsafe, then they’ll make sure to address it,” Ivanov said. 

Addressing campus safety concerns allows students to gain more awareness and especially of their surroundings. Different experiences and concerns from students express that there is still work to be done at Sac State University to achieve a safe campus and environment. 

“Trust your instincts,” Ivanov said. “And if you feel something is wrong or doesn’t feel right when you’re walking on campus, then you could contact the police or even use an escort. There are different resources that can help you stay safe.”