Campus safety looks different depending on who you ask. A recent informal survey by the Lutrinae asked about 70 Cal State Monterey Bay students how safe they felt on campus – and what factors influenced those feelings most.
We found that while most feel generally safe on campus, they pointed out specific issues: dim parking lots, distrust in surveillance expansion and an uneven awareness of safety resources.
Racial, sexual and gender identities also played a big part in student safety, with multiple students commenting on how those factors influenced their feelings and even their behavior on campus.
Last year, racist graffiti appeared on campus, leading to concern from students and the campus community. The survey found that 42.9% of respondents were neutral on whether the incidents affected how safe they feel. However a large share of respondents are first-year students, meaning many weren’t enrolled when the incident occurred, which could explain the neutral response rather than indifference.
Shana Holloway
Third-year business major
When Shana Holloway enrolled at CSUMB – a school where just 4% of students identified as African American as of last fall – she quickly came to terms with the experience she would have as a Black woman on campus. She talked about attending classes where she would be the only Black student in the room.
Nonetheless, she says she was able to find community and felt relatively safe on campus.
“It was very apparent, like, OK, we are the minority, like there aren’t many [Black] people on this campus or in my classes,” said Holloway. “There wasn’t necessarily anything to worry about. It’s just like, I wish there was more representation.”
That changed after a series of incidents over the past academic year in which racist graffiti was found spray-painted on buildings around campus, including on and near the doors of dorm rooms.
“I think we were all a bit worried and more on edge because you hear stuff like that happening elsewhere and you kind of think, oh, well, Monterey is chill. People are nice. That’s not going to be an issue here, but like, that’s able to happen anywhere,” said Holloway. “Personally, if I was out late at night, I would make sure I wasn’t out by myself, and just sticking with friends and people in the community.”
Holloway was particularly affected when it became apparent that the perpetrator(s) of those incidents would not be found. Now president of Black Students United at CSUMB, she and her peers have advocated for expanded camera networks on campus.
“I feel like more cameras will prevent any sort of discriminatory action, or just anything dangerous,” said Holloway. “I feel like this impacts more than just the Black students…that will make students as a whole feel more comfortable if any sort of incident, not just racial, were to happen, that the perpetrators could be found. I feel like it’s just something that would benefit the entire community.”
Respondents to the Lutrinae’s survey seemed divided on whether or not they agree. About 23% said they would feel safer on campus with more camera surveillance, with about 43% disagreeing and 34% feeling neutral toward the idea.
(Note: The Lutrinae’s informal survey results did not reflect the ratio of school’s racial makeup. Mostly white students replied, while a disproportionately smaller number of Hispanic students did the same. Black students responded at a rate of about 4%, mirroring their share of the student population as of last fall.)
Jonathan Tomeldan
First-year accounting major
Jonathan Tomeldan recently arrived at CSUMB as a freshman after graduating from high school last spring. He’d only been attending classes for a few weeks when he spoke with the Lutrinae.
His first impressions of the school have been shaped in no small part by his identity as an Asian-American – another of CSUMB’s smaller ethnic minorities, representing 8% of the student body. He credits the Asian Pacific Islander Association, a student-run organization at CSUMB, for providing a sense of belonging.
“It’s just weird being in a place where there’s not a big Filipino community, or an Asian community that’s, like, as robust,” said Tomeldan, “but I feel like APIDA does help kind of bridge that gap for students.”
According to Tomeldan, who identifies as bisexual, being queer has also impacted how safe he feels at CSUMB, although he attributes this more to the broader political climate than to any specific issue with the campus culture.
“It is very hard, because there are still stereotypes surrounding people who are of different gender identities or sexual identities in general, especially with, like, how the narrative is right now outside of campus,” said Tomeldan. “It makes you really kind of check your bases and be way too hypervigilant about, can I be comfortable here? Can I be open about who I am? Can I trust this person to treat me as an equal?”
Like other first-year students, Tomeldan had not heard about the previous semesters’ racist graffiti incidents before speaking with the Lutrinae. Nonetheless, he was quick to express that the situation can and should resonate with students far beyond the Black community at CSUMB.
“It always strikes a nerve with me,” said Tomeldan. “Any hate that’s directed toward one group, kind of sets a precedent that it can really apply to, like, any other group…that kind of action comes from a place of so much hate. And to me, I simply just can’t comprehend that.”
Liv Alvarez
Fourth-year psychology major
As she enters her second year at CSUMB, transfer student Liv Alvarez describes her experience at the school as very safe overall. She counts herself lucky to have found thriving communities and support networks on campus, which have uplifted her both as a Latina woman and as a queer person.
Alvarez does not live on campus, and rarely finds herself there after dark. As a commuter, she does have concerns about Flock camera surveillance within the broader community; yet the only campus safety issue that comes to mind for her has to do with the Wave, a free shuttle service offering transportation between CSUMB and neighboring communities that does not require an Otter ID or other identification to board.
“[I feel safe] for the most part,” said Alvarez. “There were times where there would kind of be…what I thought were random people getting on, and I guess they could have been,” said Alvarez, “They really do not check if you are a student or not… so you could totally, you could totally just pull up, not even be a student, faculty, professor, and get on.”
Paityn Hoff
Third-year humanities and communication major
Paityn Hoff’s experiences with safety on campus haven’t always been positive. Much of the discomfort she’s experienced at CSUMB has been rooted in gender dynamics; she believes the school doesn’t do enough when it comes to issues involving students and faculty alike.
“I think there’s a lot of issues on this campus when it comes to misogyny. That is one thing I’ve noticed,” said Hoff. “There are professors on this campus that harass women…So I do think this campus has a serious problem when it comes to safety for its female students.”
Additionally, Hoff says poor lighting has caused her to feel unsafe at night in areas both on and off campus.
“I’ve been in the parking lots at night, like with my friend who was driving. I have noticed they’re kind of dark,” said Hoff. “I’ve only ever used the Wave once, going to East Campus, and it was at night and it was pitch black. So that was not super consoling…It was a little nerve-racking, and I noticed other stops on the way to East Campus that are just, like, completely dark. There’s no lighting. I think if I had to get off at one of those stops, I would have felt really, really uncomfortable.”
Jenna Knott
Second-year
Jenna Knott, a second-year student, said her identity plays a key role in how safe she feels on campus. “Being a woman and being visibly queer means that I am just generally on alert when walking around, especially at night,” Knott said.
That vigilance follows her into campus parking lots. “I feel safe but not like I can relax, which I’m sure every woman can empathize with,” Knott said. “This is a very common feeling in other parking lots as well.”
Lighting is another concern for Knott. “Better lighting in parking lots and less populated areas would be helpful,” she said. Only 41.1% of surveyed students said current campus lighting is adequate, even though most said they feel safe walking through the lots.
One addition that hasn’t reassured her: cameras. Knott isn’t opposed to them outright, but she draws a line at Flock cameras, which have been showing up closer to campus. “I don’t like those, I disagree with how they’ve been used so far around the country and believe their AI software to be dangerous,” Knott said. Her skepticism lines up with the survey results: only 25.7%& of students said more surveillance would make them feel safer, while 55.8% said they believe better alternatives exist.