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University students rally to dramatize women's safety By JESSICA SMITH Southern Oregon University students and leaders called on one another Wednesday night to help prevent the kinds of attacks that three Ashland women faced in November. "Be good to each other. Take good care of each other and watch out for yourselves," Robin DeBates, director of the campus Women's Resource Center, told a group of about 50 during a rally outside the university's Churchill Hall. The rally was spearheaded by STOP (Students Together Outright Pissed), a group that wants to educate students about safety resources available on campus. "We are a safe community, relatively speaking. But we are not as safe as we could be," DeBates said. Attacks on three Ashland women are proof of that, DeBates and others said. On Nov. 3, a 22-year-old woman was raped as she walked alone near the Ashland Public Library. A Talent man is being held on charges in that case. But less than two weeks after the reported rape, on Nov. 12, a 19-year-old Southern Oregon University student and a 23-year-old woman were groped and robbed by an unidentified man wielding a knife. "I'm sorry if I sound angry and self-righteous. But I have a right to be angry and self-righteous. It's insane that we stand around and wait for something to happen" before taking a stand against violence, said Denise Jackson, an SOU sophomore. Although the attacks in November were a kind of "wake up call" for Ashland, Jackson and others said community members must be vigilant to prevent further incidents. "(Our response to violence) is so reactionary, rather than preventative. It's disturbing," said SOU junior Joseph Cornwell, who lives in Emerald Hall. He added that although he feels secure on campus, he sometimes escorts his female friends to their dorm rooms to make sure they get there safely. Getting involved is the best way to prevent abuse, Joey Ngan, SOU security director, said. People shouldn't be afraid to step in when they see or suspect abuse, he added. "I would like to see this campus feel they are they're brothers and sisters keepers," Ngan said. "I want our staff and students to know they have the right to intervene." There are other ways to get involved, DeBates said. Volunteers are needed at the university's safety outreach service, the Women's Resource Center, and at local organizations such as the Dunn House, she said. For more information, call the Women's Resource Center at 552-6216 or campus security at 552-6258. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA