A petition asking Ohio State to prioritize public safety has garnered 1,600 signatures as of Thursday. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
A petition asking Ohio State to prioritize public safety has garnered 1,600 signatures as of Thursday.
Social media users within the “Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State” Facebook page, which shares safety and security concerns in the University Area, published a petition Jan. 13 urging the Ohio State Board of Trustees to increase funding for multiple public safety initiatives.
The petition outlines specific resources the group thinks should be bolstered. Suggested measures include resuming neighborhood safety notices, increasing the use of fixed security cameras and LED lights and expanding the Ohio State Division of Police and Columbus Police Department’s joint patrol program.
“We continue to be concerned about the violent crime in the University District,” said Jen Allen, a member of the group and parent to two Ohio State students. “We are grateful for the steps taken so far; we just need more.”
Allen joined the group after Ohio State soccer player Nathan Demian was shot at 262 Chittenden Ave. in December 2024, she said. Her sons live on the same street.
Allen said the group’s goal is to secure as many signatures as possible, prior to scheduling a meeting with the Board of Trustees.
University spokesperson Dan Hedman said in an email many of the petition’s propositions are similar to those featured in an independent report — created by the Security Risk Management Consultants — the university received in 2022 and has since implemented.
One such change was expanding the joint patrol program from one OSUPD-CPD off-campus patrol car to four, Hedman said. In addition, he said more fixed and mobile cameras were placed around the University District, and the Community Crime Map — which displays off-campus crime statistics — was also implemented.
“The university also pays for private security to patrol off-campus areas every night of the week, called Buckeye Block Watch,” Hedman said.
Hedman said OSUPD and the Department of Public Safety “[speaks] daily with CPD about crime and crime trends.”
“University leadership meets monthly with CPD to review crime data and discuss safety resources,” Hedman said. “We continue to look for additional strategies to address crime and safety concerns.”
The neighborhood safety notices, a resource the petition is asking to resume, were sent on a case-by-case basis when off-campus incidents greatly and continually threatened students and staff present, according to prior Lantern reporting. Until 2022, these notices were awareness and recap tools for students off campus, Hedman said.
The Community Crime Map — which is powered by data analytics company LexisNexis and uses data collected from CPD — replaced the notices at the request of students, Hedman said.
Allen said she feels her children aren’t going to check the crime map to see the statistics, and believes others won’t as well. This, she said, is why she thinks alerts that notify students of a crime shortly after it occurs are a better mechanism.
“[The students] just need something simple that they can sign up for, know where there’s danger on campus and just avoid the area,” Allen said. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
In December 2024, the group met with university and Columbus public safety leaders — including Monica Moll, associate vice president of public safety for Ohio State, and Gregory Bodker, assistant chief for CPD — to discuss current safety measures being used in the University District, the petition states.
“We asked OSUPD and CPD if they would benefit from additional joint patrols and surveillance equipment, and both parties agreed,” Allen said. “We need our trustees to recognize this and make this happen.”
