Oct. 10--TAMPA -- With two on-campus rapes reported in the past three weeks, University of South Florida sophomore Julissa Ponce makes sure to double check a mental list of safety precautions while walking to class.
Be aware of your surroundings is one, she said. Keep an eye out for bright blue emergency call boxes is another.
And don't forget to bring a friend.
"I don't like walking around by myself at night," Ponce, 20, said. "A lot of my friends take precautions."
Ponce and other students said safety was a priority even before USF police were called to investigate recent reports of two rapes, both in campus dormitories.
Those incidents, students said, are an aberration. The sprawling main campus between Fletcher and Fowler avenues is usually crime-free.
"It's really sad to hear those girls were attacked," said junior Jamie Dunn, 20. "It can happen to anyone."
USF officials said four sexual assaults or sexual batteries have been reported to university police so far this calendar year. One was reported in 2011, and nine in 2010.
"We don't believe the number of incidents are increasing, but the number of people who report it to police is increasing,'' said USF spokeswoman Lara Wade. "That is a positive step -- we want individuals to feel comfortable in taking the next step to reach out to police and report the crime. We attribute the increased police reporting to new and enhanced educational and preventive programs at USF.''
Officers were called to the university's Epsilon Residence Hall at 9:45 a.m. on Monday after a woman there reported she was raped by someone she knew, USF police Lt. Charlotte Domingo said.
The case remains under investigation. No one has been charged or arrested, Domingo said.
On Sept. 19, police investigated another case where a female resident of the Kappa Hall dormitory said she was sexually battered. A man attacked the victim in the vending area of Room 124A on the hall's first floor, investigators said.
The man has not been identified. He is about 5 feet 10 inches tall with shaggy brown hair and sunken eyes, police said. He was wearing dark green cargo shorts and a gray T-shirt, and had the odor of Axe body spray or deodorant.
The two rape cases do not appear to be related, police said.
Domingo said USF police have increased patrols around the residence halls, especially at night.
About 150 resident assistants and other staffers have held meetings at the dorms to stress safety measures, said Ana Hernandez, USF's dean of housing.
The dorms have three layers of security, Hernandez said.
Students have to swipe their USF identification cards to enter the building. Once inside, a key is needed to open a door that leads to a small common area in the middle of at least two bedrooms. The bedroom doors are locked and require another key, she said.
Ben Zackheim, 20, a junior, said he lived in the dorms as a freshman. Lapses in a resident's judgment can compromise security, he said.
His roommates often forgot to lock the door leading to the common area, he said.
"You were never 100 percent in control of your lock," Zackheim said. "Random people could just walk in. Sometimes they were freshmen, who got off on the wrong floor and were lost."
Ponce, who lived in the dorms last year, said the on-campus residential community is small so it's easy to spot a suspicious person.
"You get a sense of people who live there," Ponce said. "If you see a stranger, they'll stick out."
Nanci Newton, the director of the USF Center for Victim Advocacy and Violence Protection, said she doesn't want students to live in fear.
"We want students to always be aware of their personal safety," Newton said. "I want students to always be cautious. I don't want them to be afraid."
Newton said 36 victims of sex crimes talked to the center's counselors last school year. Forty students sought the center's services in 2010-2011 and 39 people in 2009-2010.
The majority of the incidents were stalking or cyber-stalking that happened off campus, Newton said.
Dunn said the university's emergency notification system sent email and text alerts to its 65,000 students when the rapes were reported. Dunn said those initiatives, including digital display boards on campus and a GPS cell phone service allowing police to track students, help her feel secure.
"They give us a lot of options," Dunn said.
Zackheim said he takes night classes and makes sure to keep an eye on the location of the university's emergency phone boxes with their blue lights. Spaced across the campus, each box is within view of another.
Zackheim said if you're in trouble, you can hit the button on one box then run to the next and hit the button there. The sequence helps police zero in on your location, he said.
Ponce said she often calls the school's Safe Team -- escorts who drive a golf court to your location, pick you up and take you where you need to go.
Melissa Gingold, 20, said she uses an old stand-by for personal protection.
"I've always carried mace with me, ever since I was 15," Gingold said. "I never had to use it. In fact, I had to get a new one because the old one expired."
Copyright 2012 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.
