Yashowanto Ghosh, reporter
Aquinas College’s 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, with data about the calendar years 2021–2023, was published by the Campus Safety Department on Oct. 1, 2024, and is available to read at https://www.aquinas.edu/offices/campus-safety/2024%20Annual%20Report%20v.1.pdf.
Aquinas College Campus Safety – Photo Yashowanto Ghosh
A first reading of the report gave rise to a few questions. The Instagram celebrity redflags_of_aq, in an online interview, wondered about the meaning of the term “suspicious,” such as in “suspicious behavior on campus” on page 5 of the report. Both redflags_of_aq and another member of the community, who wishes to remain anonymous, asked why the 109-page report left out last fall’s spree of vehicle break-ins, making the campus sound less eventful than it really had been in 2023. The Saint sat down for an interview with the Director of Campus Safety, Officer Kevin Kwiatkowski, for answers to these and other questions.
Officer Kevin Kwiatkowski, Director of Campus Safety – Photo Yashowanto Ghosh
Kwiatkowski said the report follows rules that are set—and periodically updated—by the federal government, and that the rules stipulate which incidents should be included in the report. The vehicle break-ins, for example, are crimes that are not supposed to be on the report. All incidents are included on the Clery public crime log instead, which is available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Gl-4l1ZwN7O3Q7yOu11skZlEgrCS9QW5.
The public log is also updated within two days of an incident, whereas any year’s report only comes out months after the year ends. The Campus Safety website has a link to the public log. About the definition of “suspicious,” Kwiatkowski said it is up to the people who call in the incidents, which leaves it subjective, causing “suspicious behavior” to be overreported.
The anonymous community member also wondered exactly what counts as a hate crime for the report. Kwiatkowski said that first, it would have to be a type of incident that is supposed to be included in the report; second, there has to be proof that the incident was motivated by bias against the victim’s race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin. He added that motivation is difficult to prove, so hate crimes are underreported.
Another underreported category of crime, according to Kwiatkowski, is sexual assault, including dating violence. He said crime in this category may go unreported when the victim is scared, suffers from feelings of guilt, or does not know where to report the crime.
Still, Kwiatkowski said people are becoming more likely to report crime over time, putting more incidents on the Clery report than what it used to have 10 or 15 years ago. Another factor that has made the report grow is changes in federal regulations, which have expanded the list of crimes that should be included. He said Aquinas is comparable to other college campuses when it comes to safety.
The Saint 