Jessica Meisberger, a third-year Nursing major at Mercer, begins her day at 5:45 a.m. when she gets up and prepares to take her daughter to school. On days when her daughter doesn’t have dance practice, Mesiberger takes night classes and does not return home from work and class until 10 p.m. at which point she starts on her homework assignments.
Mesiberger’s story is typical for a non-traditional student attending the West Windsor campus. She recalls missing some of her daughter’s dance competitions and “Missing school events… due to class during the week” in order to complete the hours needed for the mandatory clinic for nursing students.
More than 60 percent of nontraditional students report being working students according to Strayer University’s U.S. News Partner Insight. This leaves night classes as the only option. About 2,498 students are taking night classes this semester according to Nina May, Director of Institutional Research at Mercer.
Besides the traditional problems college students face like deadlines, stress and financial struggles, night students face additional problems with the cafeteria and bookstore. All of these resources close early, being inaccessible for night students.
Meisberger addresses one concern which night students have more than 9-5 students: security. When asked about security Meisberger stated she has “never seen them on campus at night.”
Meisberger is not the only one, Uma Patnik, a Sports Management major, stated “people are shady and tend to follow me.”
Patnik also stated that she has never seen any security officers at night on campus.
Michael Flaherty, the Commanding Officer of Security, stated the security officers on campus have assigned positions and are always there, unless officers call out from work.
There is a small security force covering 292 acres of the West Windsor campus. In that case the officers disperse tasks to each other.
Mercer’s West Windsor campus, the criminal activity that occurred on campus during 2018 included 16 burglaries, two domestic violence offenses and five stalking offenses stated in the Annual Clery Report for Mercer. Based on the size of the school, these numbers are low.
But even a low crime rate doesn’t make everyone feel safer.
When asked what they feel could be improved to make the campus feel safer at night, Patnik suggested brighter lights on the paths leading out to the parking lots, and Meisberger suggested that security should try to be around more visibly when classes are let out.
If you are feeling unsafe on campus at night, Dr. Carlen Smith, an adjunct Professor of Biology that teaches at night, recommends walking and parking in well lit areas.
Commander Flaherty adds that “At night, students need to unplug [from their phone] and be aware of their surroundings.”
Flaherty says it’s important to “always know where you are.”
