The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 8, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 28, 1993 Page: 1 of 12
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HARDIN'SMMONS
U N
R
October 28 1993
Abilene Texas
Vol. 81 No. 8
Group Focuses On Crime On And Off-Campus
College Press Service
Dana Getzinger didn't worry
much about being a victim until
Jan. 17 1988. That was when the
University of Georgia sophomore
was stabbed in the chest as she lay
asleep in her off-campus apart-
ment In the early morning hours a
man in a ski mask slipped through
a sliding glass door. Getzinger
woke up when she felt a sudden
pain in her chest. Fighting off her
attacker she thought the man had
punched her. The knife had
pierced her aorta and liver.
If it hadn't been for the quick
work of her roommates and two
fortunate circumstances an
ambulance happened to be in the
neighborhood and a cardiovascu-
lar surgeon was on duty at the
hospital Getzinger would have
died. Instead she was on the oper-
ating table in 16 minutes.
Later Getzinger would dis-
cover that her experience was not
uncommon but there was no way
students and parents could make
an informed decision about safety
on or off-campus because no one
was keeping statistics on crimes
involving students. After under-
going two heart operations
Getzinger decided that she had to
do something.
She founded Safe Campuses
Now which was instrumental in
persuading Georgia and Tennes-
see legislators to pass laws that
require police agencies to note
any crime involving students. So
far those two states are the only
ones in the nation where such sta-
tistics are being recorded.
In most states "the schools
have absolutely no responsibility
except a moral one to make stu-
dents aware of crime that occurs
off-campus and that's where most
students live" Getzinger said.
"There's a false sense of security
among students. They think
they're living in a safe haven."
Currently colleges are re-
quired to report crimes that occur
on campuses to the federal gov-
ernment and provide annual
statistics to students and parents.
Getzinger was one of the crime
victims who went to Washington
to testify before Congress on be
half of the legislation. But no na-
tional agency keeps track of crimes
against students off-campus and
the result is that colleges can re-
port that no rapes occurred on
campus in 1992 when in fact
four to five rapes might have oc-
curred in just a few blocks from
campus.
Although she currently lives
in Chicago and no longer directly
works with the organization
Getzinger hopes to see more Safe
Campuses Now chapters and off-
campus crime reporting
established in other states as well.
"Most college students live
off-campus they party off-campus
and most crime occurs off-
(Continued on pg. 7)
Huh Huh Huh. . . Controversy
Steve Zimmer
StqffWriter
It was just a matter of time
before the MTV cartoon Beavis
and Butthead sparked major con-
troversy. Developed by Mike
Judge the show featuring two
politically incorrect male youths
quickly snowballed into a major
ratings success for MTV.
As it became more popular
the level of criticism also rose.
Many groups have found the show
to be extremely violent and offen-
sive. Others are reacting to a
small number of incidents involv-
ing young children being influ-
enced by the show. One five year
old boy in Ohio burned down his
house killing his two-year-old sis-
ter. In Abilene a four-year-old
set fire to a mattress though no
&
one was hurt in the incident. In
both cases the children cited
Beavis and ButtHead as the in-
spiration for the actions.
A number of questions imme-
diately come to mind concerning
this issue. First of all the show
was intended for an adult audi-
ence so why was it aired during
time periods when children watch
television? Furthermore why are
many parents oblivious about what
their four and five-year-olds arc
watching?
MTV has responded to the
mounting criticism by moving the
show to a later time slot and prom-
ising to tone the shows content
down including deletion of all
references to fire. Significantly
though they stated that they felt
noresponsibility for the accidents.
Indeed the fact that it is a
cartoon does not mean that it is for
children. There is a large and
growing segment of cartoon pro-
duction that is intended for a ma-
ture audience especially many
Japanese animations and Beavis
and ButtHead clearly fall into
the adult category.
There is also the issue of
cable. Cable TV is a conscious
choice by the consumer and is not
a free commodity as are tradi-
tional stations carried by airwaves.
Due to increasing technology in-
dividual stations can also be
"blacked" out if the consumer de-
sires it.
In effect this issue is a double
edged sword. Television program-
mers do have a choice when de-
ciding when and what to air for a
respective target audience. MTV
should have considered that more
carefully when putting Beavis and
ButtHead into an early evening
time slot.
Also having kids also brings
theresponsibility for guidance and
it is ludicrous that so many par-
ents are clueless to what their
(Continued on pg. 5)
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The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 8, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 28, 1993, newspaper, October 28, 1993; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97579/m1/1/: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.