Do you feel safe around campus? 

As the semester begins, students have concerns about some of the incidents that have occurred since the beginning of the year including police activity, student deaths, and stabbings.

One of the most intense incidents that has happened near campus has been the Monterey Park mass shooting that happened in late January of this year. Not only did this incident happen, but others as well, such as the death of Cal State LA student, Edgar Aguirre, who was shot near campus.

Several situations involving police activity have occurred near Cal State LA. Recently, about a month before school was set to start, a man was fatally stabbed on N. Eastern Ave near campus. A car also caught fire in parking lot C on the first week back at school.

 While the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed by the campus, some students have had some concerns due to these incidents and would like to see some improvements happen on campus.

Kinesiology major Bryson Lin is worried for his safety coming to school.

“As a student, I think it’s very dangerous, and obviously I haven’t seen it but hearing from it, it’s dangerous,” he said. “But if I see it then definitely impacts my safety even more. So, I’ll be driving more carefully and selecting classes that are not at night.”

Lin understands that if a situation like this were to happen on campus that it would get handled and can only pray that nothing happens.

“Generally, all I can do is pray for protection, and as a guy who never got picked on and doesn’t, but all I can do is just hope for the best and if it happens there’s nothing I can do,” he said.

Cal State LA student, Adam Solorzano thinks of these incidents around campus as usual things for him because of the location that the campus is in.

“These incidents happening near Cal State LA are not that all concerning, to be honest, Solorzano said. “Coming from East LA, you hear about these incidents so much it becomes normal, and Cal State LA is just in the middle of a neighborhood that has these kinds of activities sadly.”

Solozano does wish it would get better for the public safety of students and wished for some improvements on campus to help with some of the incidents that have occurred on and around the university as well.

“Have more security present, in most areas, and rotating [campus police,]” he said. “I hardly see any security and I know there’s many incidents with personal damage to peoples’ cars and them being stolen in parking garages.”

A Cal State LA Communication and Public Affairs spokesperson communicated back to the University Times in regard to the response of public safety and the incidents that have happened nearby campus.

“The safety of our campus community is our top priority. Our public safety officers, Eagle Patrols, and Community Service Officers are patrolling campus and the immediate areas around campus as much as possible. The Annual Clery Disclosure Reports indicate that crime on the Cal State LA campus is low compared to the surrounding areas. Crime on the university campus has steadily declined since 2015, with only small uptick from 2021 to 2022. The Department of Public Safety collaborates with numerous campus entities, resulting in increased communication and support.”

Not only did the spokesperson communicate that the safety of students is a top priority for Cal State LA but spoke about the car break-ins and other incidents that have happened on campus and see what some of the university safety plans are soon to come as well as implemented plans from the last few months.

“The Department of Public Safety is focused on vehicle break-ins and thefts occurring in parking lots and the activities of vendors and solicitors on campus. On page four of the 2023 Campus Safety Report, there is a list of all actions in the last 18 months to increase safety and changes to safety precautions over the next 24 months.”

In regard to the safety plans a few of them involve LED lighting to help with visibility and sensors for crosswalks by housing. The university does encourage students to help report these incidents at the Department of Public Safety at 323-343-3700 24/7 or at appropriate law enforcement agencies. The university also shares an app called Rave Guardian which is another access to resources and able to anonymously report suspicious activities.