Growing up, Kali Kerr spent nearly every Sunday at Fairmount Park.

Her father’s recreational softball team practiced at the park, which is one block south of the Wichita State campus.

“It is a beloved park for so many people,” said Kerr, a WSU sophomore. “I grew up there on Sundays.”

So when she heard the news that a 36-year-old woman was sexually assaulted, beaten and set on fire at Fairmount Park Friday night, Kerr — like many — said she was upset.

 Four days after the brutal attack, students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and nearby residents gathered Tuesday for a campus safety forum at the Campus Activities Center.

Wade Robinson, vice president of Student Affairs, moderated the discussion, with Capt. Troy Livingston and Capt. Brian White of the Wichita Police Department, and Det. Corey Herl and Chief Sara Morris of the university police department also in attendance.

“My heart goes out to the victim and the family,” Robinson said at the start of the discussion. “And the thoughts and prayers of everyone at Wichita State University are with you.”

White, who heads the WPD’s North Bureau just west of campus at 21st and Hillside Streets, said the bureau recently created a team of officers to combat violent crimes in the area. Because of this team, White said crimes have decreased.

“That certainly doesn’t mean that we’re happy with crime trends,” he said to the crowd.

Livingston told the audience “quite frankly, [investigators] don’t have a lot of information” on a suspect. The only description, he said, is a black male. The 36-year-old victim suffered burns to 55 percent of her body, Livingston said in a media briefing Monday, and could not yet provide a full description.

Although the attack occurred only a block south of campus, Morris reminded the audience that Fairmount Park is not in the university’s jurisdiction, which also does not include Greek houses.

But because it was so close, the university was alerted of the crime and provided an alert to students, faculty and staff via an email blast in accordance with the Clery Act, Robinson said in a Sunflower interview Sunday.

By law, the Clery Act requires “timely warnings” to university students and employees if an incident — such as sex offenses — represents a “serious or continuing threat to students and employees” according to Wichita State’s 2013 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

Wichita State has an “excellent working relationship with” Wichita Police, Morris said during the forum.

“I keep getting these emails and everything about ‘I’m going to pull my child out of Wichita State because it’s not safe,’” Morris said after the talk. “And I’m like ‘I don’t understand.’ What’s not safe? These crimes occurred off campus, they aren’t occurring on campus. And there’s a reason for that.”

Morris said the crime numbers on campus and across the street are like “night and day.”

In 2013, the most frequently reported crime on campus was 18 cases of disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations, and the second-most reported was seven stalking cases, according to the 2013 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. There was only one crime reported in the “non-campus” category in 2013 — a burglary.

After the discussion opened up to questions, several audience members expressed concern over the jurisdictional lines between university police and Wichita police.

In response, White said “it’s difficult when that line is drawn and there are two different agencies.” Livingston said it’s an ordinance, staffing and legislative issue.

One student said walking to and from parking lots is like “walking onto a battlefield.”

To combat these safety concerns, Morris mentioned the escort service university police provides to students who are too afraid to walk around campus at night. The forum also included a discussion on the university bringing back self-defense classes to students, faculty and staff.

Each of the officers also said that if students don’t report crimes, nothing can be done to prevent these offenses. The university police phone number is 978-3450.

Kerr addressed the safety officials with her plans to establish a fund for the victim and her family, and to increase the reward for a tip that leads to an arrest, which is currently set at $2,500.

Kerr said she has gathered a small group of people interested in helping the woman.

“Let’s do something to help this woman,” Kerr said after the discussion. “In a safe and anonymous way, [let’s] set up a trust for her and her family and take care of Christmas this year for her children.”

Additional forums may be in the works, Robinson said, to continue the discussion on campus safety.

“This really highlights the importance between us as a campus and our community,” Robinson said after the discussion. “We are not two different entities. We are one entity. And we’ve got to recognize and respect that.”