Mt. San Antonio College, located in Walnut, California is a popular community college choice for students within the Inland Empire if they want to continue their education, transfer to a 4 year college, get an associates degree, or get a certificate. With the rising trend of more students taking the transfer route, Mt. Sac has become a popular option for Don Lugo students after their senior year. However Mt.Sac is becoming popular for other reasons recently, grabbing media attention after incidents of stabbings and alleged sexual assault. Will this increase in crime on campus change students’ minds about attending Mt.Sac this upcoming school year?
Mt. Sac holds a daily crime log detailing crime reports on campus including where they happened, when they happened, and a summary of the crime. The log included crimes from grand theft to attempted murder with an alarming amount of these crimes happening either on the same day or within days of each other. It additionally appears that a high level of car crimes are frequent on this campus with multiple students getting their catalytic converter stolen from their vehicles. This is a problem that is scary for Mt. Sac students since the college doesn’t have on-campus living, so all students are commuters and most need their car in order to get to campus. Without any other options what are students supposed to do?
Most recently at Mt.Sac crimes such as the recent stabbing on campus and the multiple alleged accounts of sexual battery have gotten a good deal of attention on the news and on social media. However it seems this trend is common in a large amount of college campuses across the nation. According to bestcolleges.com, fondling incidents account for 16% of reported crimes on college campuses and Mt.Sac’s most popular crime, grand theft, accounts for 23% of criminal offenses across colleges nationally.
These crimes come at a time when students are starting to look into colleges and find where they want to go and safety is one important factor in that decision. With upcoming early decision applications just around the corner, seniors are starting to think seriously about their colleges and options, so this trend on campus can be a serious issue for possible Mt. Sac attendees. Patriot High School senior Mario Martinez is considering a career in firefighting so Mt. Sac’s impressive fire technology and fire academy program stood out to him, putting them on his radar for possible college options. However, his interest has now decreased as he states,” That’s something I don’t want to be around especially if it’s serious crimes.”
If this trend continues how are incoming Mt. Sac students – and most importantly the current students – supposed to feel safe on campus? Will this trend get worse from here? As a senior and incoming college student, college will be the first time I am away from my parents and my usual surroundings. This is common for most students who are going to college for the first time. Feeling safe on campus is an important factor in choosing your college and personally hearing of dangerous incidents or an unsafe campus has persuaded me to take the college off of my application list. Sharing the same sentiment, senior Lexi Lozano states, “It is very important to me feeling safe as a first time college student because I will be on my own and experiencing new things and I want to ensure that I am staying safe especially because the environment is new.”
Although Mt. Sac will still most likely remain a strong option for students and their postsecondary education, Mt. Sac should take action in order to get a handle on the problem, not only for their image but for the safety of their students as well. Mt. Sac offers accessibility and options for students who need it the most, so it should be their top priority to make their students safe. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether their catalytic converter is getting grabbed while they’re in their lecture or if they’re going to be groped on the way to class. Mt. Sac must get a handle on the crime on campus in order to offer students the safe space and protection to focus completely on their studies and excel.
