LV Life

Danger!

illustration by Adam Omernik
illustration by Adam Omernik

by Nila Priyambodo
and Yelena Ovcharenko
illustrations by Adam Omernik

Eighteen University of La Verne students were randomly selected to participate in an informal survey to determine what the average person would do when put in three dangerous situations: a sexual assault attempt, a carjacking and the witnessing of a car accident.

Eight female students on the La Verne campus were asked what they would do if they were walking in an empty parking lot at night and a man approached them.

Three said they would fight back.

“I would put on my kickboxing moves and kick him where the sun doesn’t shine,” said Candice Romero, a freshman business major.

Kelly Silagyi, a junior education major, agreed with Romero.

“If I actually thought I could win I would fight back,” Silagyi said.

Two out of eight ULV students said they would run and two out of eight said they would scream.

illustration by Adam Omernik
illustration by Adam Omernik

“The first instinct is to scream,” said Amri Covarrubias, a freshman English major.

The least popular answer was that they would cry. Only one out of eight students said she would cry if she encountered the scenario.

Lieutenant Jim Strona from the La Verne Police Department agreed that fighting back is the right reaction.

“Fight him,” Strona said. “Don’t give up. Don’t comply.”

Campus Safety and Transportation Interim Director John Lentz agreed with Strona.

“Scream, holler, kick, hit, punch him in the groin, spit or throw up on him,” Lentz said. “Do whatever you can to resist him.

“But scream ‘fire,’” he added. “Statistics show that a person will get more response if they scream ‘fire’ than if they were to scream ‘help.’”

However, Strona and Lentz said that there are other measures a student can take to prevent this situation from happening.

“You always want to prevent things from happening,” Strona said. “It can be prevented by parking in a lit parking lot, walking in groups and looking around before you go out.

“If you’re walking alone, have someone watch you walk to your car until you arrive safely,” he added. “If you’re waiting for someone, wait inside a building until the person arrives.”

Lentz added: “People who are victims of these crimes are usually not paying attention to their surroundings, their hands are full of belongings and are not self confident because they are walking with their heads looking at the ground.”

Students were also asked what they would do if a person attempted to carjack their car while they were driving.

The majority of the students, three out of five, said that they would get out and hand over their car.

“I could always get another vehicle, but I can’t get another life,” said Elisha McKinney, a junior speech major.

illustration by Adam Omernik
illustration by Adam Omernik

Kendell Smith, a senior music major, is another student who would give up his car if put in this situation.

“This is why I have insurance,” Smith said.

The other two ULV students would drive off if a carjacker approached them.

“I’d run him over,” said Carina Vosberg, a junior liberal studies major.

If a person attempted to steal your vehicle while you were driving, the ideal response is to hand over your car, Strona said.

“It’s only a car,” Strona said. “You don’t want to risk losing your life.”

After giving up the car, the next thing a victim should do is call for help, Strona said.

“The faster you call us, the faster we can catch up to them,” he said. “Many cars have Lojack. We can trace them. The most important thing is that you are safe.”

Five additional ULV students were asked to place themselves in the hypothetical situation of witnessing a car accident while driving.

Three out of five students said they would keep driving and try to stay out of the accident.

“I probably wouldn’t stop,” said Jason Greenlee, a junior accounting major. “I got somewhere to go.

“But if it was a really bad accident, I would probably call,” he added.

However, two out of the five students questioned said they would pull over and get out of the car.

“I would pull over and see if they are alright,” said Elissa Harp, a senior behavioral science major.

If faced in this situation, Strona said that the ideal reaction would be to stop and call for help. However, you should not get out of your vehicle, he said.

“You have a cell phone, use it,” Strona said. “It takes less than a minute for you to call and for us to arrive. So wait.

“Stay in the car and don’t get out until emergency personnel arrive because you might be in danger as well,” he added.

Strona said that not everyone is trained to provide medical assistance if the person is trapped or needs advanced medical help.

A witness or bystander attempting to help might further endanger the victim.

In addition, Strona said that getting out of the car could put the person trying to help in danger.

“The scene of the accident might be in a blind curve,” Strona said. “By getting out of the car, you can endanger yourself. Another car can hit you.”

Lentz also believes that the right thing to do is to stay in the car until help arrives.

“It could all be a set up,” Lentz said. “They could be luring you in to help them, but they just want to get you into a vulnerable position.”

Strona added: “We are not asking people to not be good Samaritans, but you don’t want to put others in even more danger and you especially don’t want to put yourself in any more danger than you have to be.”

Although these are the ideal answers on how to approach dangerous situations, they are not guaranteed to be successful all of the time.

There are many uncontrollable factors in each and every situation that contribute to an unforseeable outcome. If faced with a dangerous situation, remember these tips and go with your gut feeling.

Nila Priyambodo can be reached at npriyambodo@ulv.edu. Yelena Ovcharenko can be reached at lenchik02@aol.com.

Nila Priyambodo, News Editor
Nila Priyambodo
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Yelena Ovcharenko, Web Editor
Yelena Ovcharenko
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Adam Omernik, Photography Editor
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