Wichita State hosted a forum along with Wichita Police to address the sexual assault, beating and burning of a woman at Fairmount Park last week, along with other area crimes. While some community members were hopeful for solutions, many others expressed fears of the seemingly increased crime in the area.

“Last month, we heard someone shooting on 16th Street,” said Teja Nallagoria, a WSU student who lives near Fairmount Park. “We had this [assault and arson.] At least next month — December — hopefully we won’t have anything.”

University Police Chief Sara Morris, however, doesn’t seem to be concerned about the crime rate “on campus.”

“Our campus is a very safe campus,” she said to the audience Tuesday. “I feel very confident in saying that.”

Morris cites an annual crime report of incidents on campus, which, in her defense, makes campus look like a small town. But these figures don’t do anything to create a sense of security for students who only notice that violent crimes are occurring where they walk, park and live.

Also, campus isn’t tucked nicely between Oliver and Hillside Streets or 21st and 17th. Since parking on campus is limited to those with permits, many students don’t have the luxury to stay in the “safe part.”

Hundreds of students park across 17th Street, which is disturbingly close — if not precisely where — many of these crimes are taking place. One student said she feels like she walks through a “battlefield” to get to class.

University police has a strict jurisdiction that only includes property “owned and operated” by WSU. This does not include the “battlefield” across the street or the Greek houses in the area.

It is the opinion of the Sunflower that campus police jurisdiction needs to be expanded in order to effectively protect the large number of students who are sometimes outside the safety bubble of campus.

WSU has done a good job at making students aware of these recent crimes. But it has to take the next step when it comes to making students feel safe on and around campus, which means acknowledging the lack of safety for students just off campus.

To help keep the areas outside university police jurisdiction, more “help points,” or emergency alert systems could be added near the large parking lot across 17th Street and in neighborhood areas where students park and live.

One WSU student was assaulted in the parking lot and was forced to run to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house on the corner. If there was an emergency alert point in the lot, he may have found relief from his attackers much sooner.

Other solutions, such as better reporting by students, self-defense classes and more use of the campus police escort system, have also been discussed.

But the first step toward a solution is university police and Morris taking off-campus incidents more seriously. Campus itself may be safe, but that doesn’t make students feel safe when they cross the street.

— For the editorial board, Jake Trease