Old Dominion University is essentially a small town. With 5,000 students living on campus in dorms and another estimated 2,500 students living in nearby neighborhoods, the school will soon be designated a "primarily residential" university, according to a report in the January 3, 2010, Virginian-Pilot. In all slightly more than 23,000 students enrolled at ODU for the 2010-2011 school year.
In addition, ODU employees nearly 1,700 professors, information technology professionals, executive assistants and maintenance personnel. So on any given day between late August and early May, some 25,000 people may be on campus or driving or walking to and from it. Protecting those students and staff has become an increasing concern.
The Pilot article notes, "[ODU’s] growth hasn’t come without pains. Residents in nearby Lamberts Point and Larchmont have complained of an increasing number of off-campus parties. … A rash of high-profile crimes on and around campus has worried students and prompted the city to propose a new police substation in Lamberts Point." These crimes have mostly been robberies and burglaries, but official statistics for on-campus and neighborhood crimes compiled by the ODU Police Department also show negligent manslaughters, arsons and a disturbingly high number of rapes.
A university has the highest duty to protect students in dorms, especially those under 18. School officials must also ensure that buildings and sidewalks do not pose slip and fall hazards; that campus streets and parking lots are well-maintained, patrolled and crime-free; and that anyone accused of injuring a student or staff member gets investigated and, if warranted, arrested and punished.
ODU has worked with the Norfolk Police Department, the city and the state to make safety a principal concern as the school has grown. Those cooperative efforts must continue. Especially since, as a long-term resident of the Larchmont neighborhood, I am so excited by the growth and energy at the school. Walking to a football game or the Ted for hoops is fun and makes one feel like a Monarch even if you did not attend the university. But the increased foot and vehicle traffic does concern me as a parent worrying about cars or trucks hitting students on bikes or walking around as pedestrians.
EJL
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, whose attorneys work out of offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, Eastern Shore Virginia Injury Attorneys Blog and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
Comments for this article are closed.