For many in UW’s Greek system, stories of harassment, upticks in suspicious characters loitering outside houses, and an increased fear of break-ins have led many to ask just how safe the area is.
A small snippet of the “Chi Omega Safety Alerts” chat on GroupMe details a fair amount of what sophomore member Cassie calls the “wild stuff” that’s been happening. All of the messages are between members of the Chi Omega sorority, often warning of cases of public harassment — loitering men persisting in asking for women’s numbers or attention, often getting aggressive when denied — or armed individuals. Many messages cite other chapters as their source.
While there is a feeling of bad activity hanging over the Greek System, some members have not experienced anything personally.
“I haven’t noticed [safety concerns personally], but I’ve seen it on emails and safety stuff,” Dan, a member of Alpha Delta Phi, said. “I personally feel safe, but I know with some girls, we really try to walk them home and try to keep them more safe.”
There are also Greek students who have not noticed anything out of the ordinary at all on Greek Row, with some feeling safest in that area. According to Greek member Caleb, the Ave is where the danger lies; any suspicious people on the Row are just passing through. If there’s an issue, it’s with campus as a whole, according to Caleb.
Sara, who also lives on Greek row, agrees. She lived in an apartment for a year before ultimately joining her sorority and hasn’t noticed a difference in her own safety since moving onto Greek row. According to her, living there is similar in terms of safety to every street around it.
The students who have noticed an uptick in safety concerns can generally agree, though, that the now-abandoned house once belonging to the fraternity Theta Chi, next to the sororities Alpha Chi Omega and Gamma Phi Beta, is partly to blame.
“Since [the Theta Chi] house has gone abandoned, people are taking that as their little shelter,” Sam Taylor, of Beta Theta Pi, said. “I’ve heard from friends in sororities that girls will wake up to guys yelling profanity, typically. Sometimes threats.”
Hanna Christensen of Kappa Alpha Theta has noticed an increase in individuals outside of her house at night who loiter and sometimes attempt to enter, and she cited the abandoned house as a possible source.
Formally, many sororities have adopted a kind of “buddy policy,” where members are encouraged — and possibly even required — to have people with them when going out.
Communication in and between chapters has also become paramount, as with Chi Omega’s safety alert chat. If a Greek member witnesses something dangerous, it will only be a matter of time before the vast majority of Greek women have been alerted via their own chapter.
Although there remains division among members of the UW Greek community as to the severity of safety concerns in the area, the issue has brought some members of the community closer. Whether it is a non-issue, a larger campus issue, or a genuine specific concern, there are at least some members keeping an eye on things — and each other.
Source: Dailyuw