Sacramento State dorm residents are concerned for their safety after a woman was attacked in a Jenkins Hall bathroom on April 27.

Opinions have changed since March 20, when The State Hornet reported that most students were not concerned about residence hall security.

“I never felt unsafe in the dorms until now,” Katie Crosgrove, a liberal studies freshman and Desmond Hall resident said. “What happened really limits our freedoms. I don?t even want to walk in the halls at night.”

“I?m scared to go to the bathroom by myself,” undeclared freshman Latoya Jackson said. “Even just walking to your car is scary.”

Other students like freshmen dorm residents Tiffany Dreyer and Leila Kerimova are taking their safety into their own hands.

“I just bought some pepper spray,” Dreyer said. “Maybe I should start carrying it to the shower.”

“We just use the buddy system,” Kerimova, a computer engineering major, said.

Both women said they feel unsafe not just in the dorms at night but also when they are walking on campus.

“You see a lot of weird people walking around at night,” Kerimova said.

Student fears persist even with increased police presence.

According to Sgt. Joe Green of the campus police, extra units will be assigned to the dorms for at least the next couple of weeks and probably right up to the end of the semester.

Green agreed with students who said the biggest security problem is students letting strangers into the dorms.

“College kids can sometimes be a little too open with people,” Green said. “Watch out who you allow into the dorms and be suspicious of strangers.”

The university?s housing Web site states that students are issued access cards to get into the dorms and that they should not admit non-residents who are not their guests.

The victim of the Jenkins hall assault was contacted by The State Hornet but did not wish to comment.

Green said the police have leads in the dorm attack, and they are tracking them down.

“We follow up leads and if we do not find the perpetrator, at least we eliminate people as suspects,” Green said.

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