UNCW Task Force Offers Recommendations To Help Student Safety

Monday, the school announced changes that will promote student safety.

Officials are optimistic that, as a result of the changes, many UNCW students will return to a different campus this fall. It will feel and look different.

A task force released a

preliminary report

that points the campus in that direction. The 50-page report includes eight recommendations that focus on information.

Two separate murder investigations on the UNCW campus led to the report.

When Jessica Faulkner and Christen Naujoks were killed this summer, UNCW officials realized they needed to take steps to prevent future violence on campus.

The

Task Force On Campus Violence Prevention,

assigned to the issue, focused its efforts on better informing students. It recommended building a Web site with violence-prevention resources and distributing that Web address on flyers around campus.

The group also suggested compiling a list of anti-violence classes and offering more self-defense courses.

The task force wants to build a network between student groups. It suggests that faculty members get involved in violence-prevention programs.

The suspects in both cases knew their victims. Curtis Dixon lived in Faulkner's dorm, while John Peck was Naujoks' former boyfriend.

There was no proof any of the new recommendations would have helped either victim. But UNCW administrators trust that an informed student body will better be armed to deal with potentially violent situations.

Fall classes begin Aug. 18.

UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said she will determine how quickly any, if not all, of the recommendations can be implemented.