Grand Valley State University’s Department of Public Safety enacted extensive new policies Thursday, Sept. 4 amid an unprecedented level of on-campus crime, including a stabbing and vehicle thefts. While students have expressed concern over campus safety, the guidelines have also drawn confusion from members of the GVSU community.

Most of the car thefts, as well as the stabbing, stem from non-students coming to campus. The suspect in the stabbing, while still not located, was not a student. Concerned over visitors staying past the established two-night limit and becoming involved in such incidents, GVPD cracked down with updated guidelines. The policies, emailed to students, are listed below.

• Residents will be required to register or sign in any guests upon request. To register a guest, residents must show their GVSU ID, and guests will be required to show a valid photo ID. Guest registration/sign-in will initially take place at targeted locations and may be expanded to additional locations.
• Guests will be limited to one visitor per resident.
• Quiet hours in living centers are being extended and will begin at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Entry to some living centers will be restricted to a single entrance, where residents will be required to show their GVSU ID and register/sign in any non-student guest. Housing and Residence Life staff will communicate these changes to residents in each living center as they occur. In these locations, key card access to other entrances will be disabled. All doors will remain available for exiting in compliance with fire codes.
• Parking Lots D1 and D2 in Allendale will be closed each night after 10 p.m. Overnight and guest parking will no longer be permitted in those lots on nights and weekends.
• Parking Services will begin ticketing enforcement this weekend across residential parking lots. Students are encouraged to immediately register their vehicles. Visitors must obtain a parking permit to park overnight. 

In the same email, GVPD Chief Daniel Lindstrom commented on the stabbing incident and campus safety.

“While no arrests have been made at this time, we know that neither the person whose image was included in the Timely Warning nor the victims are GVSU students,” said Lindstrom. “We have no reason to believe there is any current threat to the Grand Valley community.” 

Some students said they’ve felt annoyed by the policies, especially those who have not been involved in the offenses but now must adhere to the rules. For those wanting to have friends and family visit, social time has become not just restricted, but policed. 

“I do know that as of (Thursday) night there are cops in the lobby of Copeland monitoring who gets in,” freshman Madeline Lenk said. “I feel like the increased presence is not going to keep anyone safe, and it only makes it harder to bring in guests.”

Lenk expressed that she’s felt safe and always has, citing the incident as isolated and not indicative of what life is really like on campus.

“I feel safe on campus,” Lenk said. “I have to walk home alone at night and the stabbing didn’t really make me feel like I was more likely to get stabbed. Neither the (injured individual) nor the stabber were GVSU students and as far as I know, the injuries were very minor. I don’t think this particular crime is reflective of the whole campus.”

For Lenk, the new regulations came as both surprising and an overreach.

“It feels like overkill,” Lenk said. “I hope they don’t last long. It’s jarring.”

Chloe Carn, an english and education major in her second year at GVSU, echoed these sentiments, believing that blanket regulations for students may present more of a problem than a solution.

“(I agree with) the new rules for the dorms where problems continue to occur,” Carn said. “(But) where I stay, (the policies) will make the ability to have visitors more inconvenient.”

Carn also mentioned that she feels safe overall, but that traveling by foot at nighttime remains a persistent concern.

“I feel safe at night knowing I am on the opposite side of campus with my own front door that locks,” Carn said. “However, once the sun goes down (and) I’m walking outside, I do not feel safe because these incidents have taken place at night.”

Other students continue to express concern about the overall safety of campus life after the recent incidents.

“Given the stabbing, alongside the recent car break-ins, I don’t personally feel as safe as I could be,” said Noah MacLachlan, a senior at the University. “It seems like people have been able to get away with all kinds of things recently, and there haven’t been any leads or updates about the progress with both of these incidents. It makes me nervous about the odds that I, or someone I know, might end up getting hurt or ending up a victim.”

In regard to the absence of an arrest following the stabbing incident, McLachlan is concerned things have taken a turn for the worse.

“I have been somewhat anxious about how these incidents have been responded to,” McLachlan said. “I just hope things settle down and campus life goes back to (being) as normal as it can (be).”

It is unknown how long these policies will be in place, and to what extent. 

If you have any information regarding the stabbing incident, or any other concerns over personal and public safety, contact GVPD at (616) 331-3255 or the Ottawa County Silent Observer at (877) 887-4368.