Hank [BS/MSEE,
MSM $$$, Ph.D. Mgmt] teaches I awoke Sunday morning (8/26/07 to an email in my Purdue account informing me that a female student in Harrison Hall had reportedly been attacked by three men. The entire text is below. Protection of Purdue’s most valuable asset, its students, is a problem that entrepreneurs need to address. Consider a modification of the technology utilized in the article below, as a starting point. No, I’m not suggesting the Purdue coeds wear platform shoes; I’m suggesting the technology is available to be adapted to needs of our female students. Let’s kick this around in ENTR200 classes - Hank - Update Monday 8/27/07 - A male Purdue freshman was arrested Sunday for three separate assults. See Purdue press release here:
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Where would a good prostitute be without her (or his) signature platform shoes? In trouble, that’s where. The Aphrodite projects has taken steps to protect street-walkers with Platforms. The shoes have a built in audible alarm to scare off attackers, and when the alarm is triggered, the prostitute’s position is transmitted to either the police (in places where prostitution is legal) or to sex worker’s rights groups.
The GPS unit uses APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) a system which uses amateur radio frequencies to send data, which, ironically, was first developed at the United States Naval Academy (all the nice girls love a sailor).
The shoes are a concept right now, albeit a working one, and can be tried out at the Gallery Aferro in Newark, New Jersey in September (15th, 22nd, and 29th). Mens and women’s sizes will be available, and orders will be taken for custom builds.
Product page [Aphrodite Project via Neatorama] Platform shoe article from here:
link is here:
Full text Purdue email follows:
August 26, 2007
Police hunt for 3 men who attacked woman in Hillenbrand Hall Sunday
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University police are looking for three men who accosted a female student on the first floor of Hillenbrand Residence Hall’s west side at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday (Aug. 26).
The female student, who called police about an hour after the incident, said the males pushed her into an elevator, held the door closed, and one of them fondled her. She was not physically injured.
Police Lt. Sarah Sheppard said officers plan to distribute a composite drawing later on Sunday (Aug. 26) of at least one of the three men, who was described as a thin, black male, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a blue soccer jersey with the word “SIEMENS.” He wore khaki shorts and sandals.
The second man appeared to be Asian. He had an average build, was about 5 feet 10 inches tall, and wore a light blue button-down shirt with stripes, shorts and glasses.
The victim supplied no information about the third man.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Purdue Police Department at (765) 494-8221.
Writer: Jeanne Norberg: (765) 491-1460; jnorberg@purdue.edu
The safety and wellfare of students is the number major concern of the university as a whole.
For the institution or entrepreneurs to best “fix” problems like this we should first take a look at society and the general problem to begin with. As a student of Technology, I would love for tech to be the solution.
However, sometimes the solution isn’t technology. Sometimes, “do nothing” is the solution. I’m not suggesting that it is the answer here, but it should remain an option. Sometimes, there are other solutions that the person(s) may take that are better.
This person was in an elevator with 3 strangers at 2:30am… See a potential problem there? Sure, we have a free country - but, sometimes you have to work for freedom (dah). Making unwise decisions is not a good solution.
The tech solution costs ~$10. (Cheap - yah). But, the wise choice decision is free…
crites, the email of the incident says she was “pushed” into the elevator–not that she chose to get into the elevator with 3 strange men.
Also this happened inside of a dormitory NOT outside. So females can’t walk around at 2:30am INSIDE of dormitories anymore?? Maybe if she walking around Southside Chicago at 2:30am at night–yeah that might be considered not to bright, but this is West Lafayette AND INSIDE a Purdue University dormitory.
As a female, I do worry about being outside at night, but I didn’t expect there to be a problem INSIDE the dorm.
I agree with crites that wise decisions can help a lot. For example, the other night I was walking to my car and I saw a group of guys coming toward me on the sidewalk, so I averted my path so as to avoid a situation that probably would have been fine but had the potential to be very bad. There are currently technologies for attack situations–whistles and cell phones. Obviously the whistle would not have worked too well in an elevator at that hour, but the cell phone could have. A police officer I know said that if the situation is desperate, you can just call 911 and leave the phone off the hook so they can hear what is going on. If need be, you can give clues to where you are so they can be heard by dispatch.
I honestly wish that these situations didn’t happen. I hate living in a world of fear that something like this could happen to me.
The ideas here are good, the whistle and the cell phone. But they both have flaws. The whistle is only good when your outside, maybe it might work inside an elevator. The cell phone’s flaw is you need to dial 911 first for the police to hear. If somebody came and pushed you in an elevator quickly it doesn’t give you enough time to dial 911 on your cell phone.
The solution has to be something small that can be activated in a hurry. It has to be small and able to attach on the outside of a purse or a belt. Something like a carabiner. Now I’ve seen carabiner clocks, why not make a carabiner audible alarm. A lot like the platform shoes just put it in a carabiner. Place the alarm and detection thing where you would normally place the clock, then add a switch, like a light switch so it won’t accidently go on.
Nwokedi Idika why u gotta put Chi town in the mix, Im from the South Side of Chicago, ne way thats the problem with people. Just because this isnt NY, LA, or Chi-Town, doesnt mean people are crazy or aholes. Maybe the girl didnt see the guys or didnt take the step Katie did to avoid conflict.
Either way its good she wasnt hurt, but just walking back to the dorm with a friend would be safer…and cheaper.
This is a problem any woman (or man) faces walking alone in the late hours of the night. There are many solutions to facing these kind of situations ranging from alarms in the elevator, or carrying self-protection products like mase. Either way, this incident is tradgic and it’s something unfortunately that will always be around.
It’s terrible that there are people who do things like this, but it’s also the reality. It’s a problem. A complex one at that. I say bottom line is that people who can’t protect themselves need more protection, and as sad as it is to say, sometimes even inside places like a dorm. If she was with someone the odds of that happening go way down, it’s kind of like preparing for the worst. If tech can step in and provide futher protection than great, if the shoe helps then where it, but that one really looks goofy.
Maybe the university should look into: http://www.securesysteminc.com/campus.htm
I agree with joe here when he says that walking with a friend to where you are going, especially late at night, would greatly reduce the chances of something like this happening. As far as the campus alert thing goes, I think this would be a great option for campus’s and students alike as long as it remains that, an option. Student’s shouldn’t be required to carry something like that around with them but make it available to them so as to make them feel safer around campus.
Technology to signal the police is a great way to get help in these situations. However it still takes time for the police to arrive to the specific spot. I think that there is a need for technology to provide a weapon in order to quickly get rid of men like these. Maybe something such as pepper spray and also an alarm as described early combined would be the best option. This would give the female better self defense help at the time of the crisis and also alert the police at the same time.
Technology and weapons or even self-defense are all good solutions but i believe that they wouldn’t fix the problem entirely. Each one of these has sufficient flaws, and would only work in an ideal situation. The problem can be fixed easily by the decisions we choose to make. Its not entirely her fault for walking around alone late at night, but not a wise decision. My question is why are there people like that aloud to walk around in our dorms. I would believe that those people where not students here at purdue but visitors. I would think that purdue students would have more integrity to do something that like. Maybe wiser decisions and a mix with higher security on campus, like cameras in the hall ways or a higher screening process to let people in our dorms would help minimize these problems.
This is a very good idea, transforming a type of protection module into a fashionable style of clothing. It makes it less awkward then a blucky ankle braclet. Also, the good thing about this invention is that this device is less likely to be lost or noticed. Muggers, Kidnappers, or Rappists are less likely to throw out a persons shoes because it is not a thought of area for a GPS device to be stuck in.
I live in Hillenbrand. My roomate was coming back to the room 10 min after the incident. Normally I would have been with her but instead I opted to go to sleep early.
This particular situation has reminded me how not safe ‘dorms’ are..You’d think you could walk around designated group living fascilites without worry no matter what time it is but the reality is you can’t. Common sense should be turned on at all times. Travel in pairs/groups whenever and wherever possible.
Now were there cameras, security working/watching the doorways? Who knows! Could mase have helped in this situation, whistles, etc? Who knows! (Research needs to be done). The shoes in question or similar devices may or may not be solutions to problems in such secluded locations as elevators but some kind of device in a signature item seems to me a possible solution. Accessibily is a big issue so if security features are adapted into everyday items easily and effectively I think they should be used!
I like Kyle’s idea of the mace and a tracker. Why not imbed a sort of GPS tracker in a purse? And somehow make it where when it gets activated, the police are alerted and carry PDAs or something to give them a live feed of the location? Just a thought, again more research is needed.
This system: unit uses APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) a system which uses amateur radio frequencies to send data was developed by a ham radio operator (WB4APR) as a way to transmit position reports between users (other amatuer radio operators).
I would like to know how these shoes can transmit using an FCC licensed frequency without a license. I am sure they know what they are doing, I am just interested in how that works.
http://www.ki4wlr.com
Whats the line between “increased security” and big brother, and is it worth it?
It’s easy to say that one should travel in pairs or groups, but sometimes that is not an option. Walking alone is somewhat understandable during daylight hours, but at night it is not a very good choice. If we install technology to help support victims these items will only be effective if they are put to use. There are plenty of tools availible for women such as mase, pepper spray, emergency boxes around campus… etc. But the most effective peice of technology is the ability to control your enviornment. Do not walk alone in a dorm at 2:30 in the morning even if you’re only going to a different floor. Have a cell phone ready or a plan to avoid putting yourself in risky situations. Now, I’m not saying that anyone asks to be abused in any way, but there are ways to avoid abuse. Make good decisions, know where you are and where you’re going, look ahead of you to find the alarms and other systems, know ahead of time how to use this technology, and be confident. A victim’s biggest enemy is fear.
Sorry to say Nate, that the culprits were in fact Purdue students: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007b/070826Police3Victims.html
i agree that people should walk around in pairs after a certain point in the night but
no one should feel unsafe in their own dorm. when i’m walking home at night i always
feel a sense of relief when i get in the building. people shouldn’t have to be worried
about their saftey at all let alone in their own dorm.
I agree with Bethany that the dorms should be a safe place to be. I still believe that they are safe, especially after 11pm when they lock all of the doors. I don’t know how she would be on an elevator with 3 guys after 11 when in order to get to the place with an elevator she would have had to use her room key to get on the girls side. Well, maybe Hillenbrand is set up differently than Harrison. It just comes down to the fact that girls just always have to be aware of their surrounding and be careful, especially walking alone at night, which I don’t suggest. Anyways, thinking from an entrepreneurial standpoint, maybe we could make something that every student can carry with them to insure their safety. My friends dad bought her this whistle type thing and when and if she feels threatened she can pull this piece on the whistle and it makes an extremely loud noise. This would scare the attacker as well as get the attention of the people around her. I’m not suggesting that we all carry these annoying whistles around, but maybe something similar. It could be an object that we are always carrying, kind of like our student ID, that we could use in an emergency that could maybe even alert the police. Think of those little blue lights around campus they have for things like this. What has always bothered me about those is what guarantees that when we are in trouble we just happen to be close enough to one of those blue lighted boxes
(sorry didn’t mean to submit that yet, im just going to start where i left off.) Maybe everyone could carry a key chain like object on their lanyards that has a button or something that could notify the Purdue Police in case of an emergency. It would have to be something that was covered so that the button wouldn’t get hit by accident all the time. Also, it could possibly have like a GPS device so that whenever it alerted the police, they would know exactly where to find the person in trouble. I think that if everyone had to carry one of these objects around our campus would be a much safer place. Who would try to attack someone here at Purdue if they knew that everyone they attacked could have them arrested with the touch of a button?
This definately isn’t the first time something like this or worse has happened to the females on Purdue’s campus; however, I would’ve thought that the dorms would be a safer place to be. It’s unfortunate that these sort of things happen, not only because of the victims, but because those few terrible individuals end up decreasing everyone else’s privacy because cameras and detection devices are put in place more forcibly to catch these criminals.
safety has always, and will always be an issue. Both on campus and in your home town. It is why so many measures have been taken to keep students and citizens safe. Cameras, police, and panic buttons on street corners are all made available to help our citizens. However, no matter how many measures are taken, horrible things such as attacks stated above will continue to happen. What we can hope for is a faster response time. Maybe cell phones of the future will have a simple panic button. Maybe these shoes will take off and sell like hotcakes. Maybe technology involving smart cameras that can detect and set off alarms when crimes are being committed will come forth for our use. Safety is a hot topic and one that can be addressed by us. Maybe those shoes above aren’t the best looking in the world, but their focus is safety and thats a start.
This is a very complex problem and societal issue as a whole, as such, I’m not entirely sure entrepreneurs can bring anything new to the table that will wipe the issue out. The closest thing that continues to come up, from the article and comments, is some sort of device that alerts the police both to your location and the fact there is trouble. If she had that, maybe it would have been stopped, or maybe not. A locket, or some easily fashionable item that does not stand out could be modified to do this, but its limitations are just as great. The woman was pushed into an elevator shaft, in a large dorm. Ever try to get cell reception there? GPS reception for location? It is spotty at best. Even then the police would get a signal that something is going wrong in a large dorm, response time would be lacking.
To get further into it, you’d want a safety on the item, so that they are not going off all over campus accidentally all day long. If the girl is immediately held so that she can not move this item becomes as useless as the cell phone or can of pepper spray. From here the only real answer is due diligence, and having an availability of all these said items ready. Or simply making sure you have friends to accompany you. There are many answers, and only the person, at the time, can decide for themselves which one will be best.
All this technology is good thing but being entrepreneurs we have to be careful with security cameras. If we use the cameras you have to put them some where and we have the responsibilty to make sure that any technology used does not interfere with privacy issues.
I am not used to walking with people because where I lived I could walk anywhere by myself and still feel safe (I also am asleep by 2 am). Small town girls might not take inconsideration about the difference in the size of places and the potential threats.
I am pretty sure that to get into Hildebrand after 11pm you have to swipe your PUID. That probably means that someone let them into the hall.
I feel that we are all responsible for our own safety and that common sense can keep us out of most dangerous
situations but there is no way that a person can expect an attack like this one. I feel that the only way
entrepreneurs can aid in self-defense is to come up with or provide a safety device such as whistles, lights, pepper
sprays,etc.
Although the idea of advancing upon safety technology is a good idea, I don’t think people should be wearing these devices on their shoes. I think that a much better idea would be a cell phone alarm or some sort of device that will fend off predators built into a cell phone. I think a cell phone would work well because no one goes anywhere without their cell phones. An alarm would not be hard to trigger on a cell phone as long as it was well protected enough not to go off by light contact and as long as at least this part of the cell phone was very durable and not easily breakable. Safety is definitely an issue, on college campuses it seems to be a large issue and something needs to happen for this to be addressed.
For all of the freshman college is a new experience, and when you are put in a position like this you have to take normal precautions that you normally would not have too. You know you are going to be at a huge university walking around during the night time. There are certain things such as pepper spray, lights, key chains with lights and alarms on them, etc. These are just small things that may be able to help.
I work in a jewelry store and safety is one of the most important things that we had to learn. We had a password if we ever felt threatned and an emergency button on the phone, plus surrveliance cameras all around the building. Shane Company, another jewelry store, had buttons under every case that would trigger a silent alarm when pushed. Purdue has the emergency lights outside, but there could be a button somewhere inside the building that could set off an alarm.
The realization, though hard to face, is that you can never be guaranteed safety anywhere you go anymore. It is sad that society has come to this.
Being a female I can relate to the fear of being attacked. I think that the safety shoe, though impressive in theory, is not a realistic invention and most definetly not an answer to a widespread problem. What is the likelyhood that a women being attack by someone larger than her could get her hand all the way don’t to her shoes… wouldn’t that seem a little suspicious?
I don’t disagree that maybe there should be more security within the dorms, but to a point… when does the responsibility ever fall on the student to avoid such situations. I would hope that no one would get attacked inside the dorm, but when you think about it, it is the equivalent of someone getting attacked in their apartment complex. Though unfortunate, we are all alone in college… we don’t have teachers staring at the hemline on or skirts or looking over our shoulders as we do out homework. Obviously not all situations such as the unfortunate one which occured this weekend can be stopped, but it is time that we realize our own responsibilities and do our very best to protect ourselves.
The ideal solution to the problem would be something small that a person could simply attach to something they were wearing at the time, like a bracelet, necklace, hair tie, watch, something that they always wear, that would be easy to activate. I read an article a while back about a company that was researching bras that tracked a woman’s heart rate and if it jumped suddenly to show that the she was in distress, it would call the cops and report her position. Here’s the website if you’re interested:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1999/07/20517
Something that we could just wear without thinking of it would be the best, so it would have to be waterproof. However it should also have a button to press if you just get scared by a friend or something so that the cops don’t show up.
Self defence weapons and tools are a mature market. There is no way that we can improve on those. all of you guys are thinking to much with technology. I know of we a custom solution to this problem without making women wear electric bras (no one would wear that). We just need to utilize the 24 hour security guard. Either you can move him to te girls side so he can see who goes in or put up a camera. Why is he on the male side, we don’t need as much protection. this is a cheap and 100% effective plan. i can’t believe i was the first one to see this.
This definitely is a problem. The safety of the students is one of the most important things here on campus. It may be difficult to remain in an enviornment if we do not fully feel secure. And how are our parents supposed to feel about this situation? If we the students don’t make our homes away from home safe who can we depend on. This is a case of the enemy within and it desperately needs better solutions. There should be security at the entrance of every residence hall and police surveying the neighborhoods especially at night and during the early morning. I don’t think electronic devices would do the trick because not everyone would get one and criminals could find a way around them just as they do home security systems. We should get our brains thinking of more effectives ways to solve this problem entrepreneurs!
Purdue should get more police and more advanced technology to keep the students safe. It’s hard to think of such technologies but someone has to do it. As a female I will think twice about walking anywhere weather day or night.
The events that took place are most unfortunate and as a female student I too am concerned at the growing amount of neglect in safety measures on campus. The best remedy to the situation I believe is card entry, or barcode technology. Cards should not only be able to open the front doors but should be used for elevators and other systems. This could be the change that will allow students to rid themselves of keys and use barcode system for just about everything.
As for the platform shoes, not my idea of the best use of technology. A cool thought though. Not practical enough for me.
I can agree with Ericka–it seems as if a few bad apples have to ruin it for the rest of us who work hard and mind our own business. But that’s nothing new. More security measures I agree need to be taken, but inevitably at a cost of our privacy and comfort of everyday life. However, if I look at this more positively, I believe we can think of this as another problem to be solved by entrepreneurs as the initial post by Hank alludes to. The shoes above seem goofy to me, and I can’t see many girls around Purdue wanting to wear shoe’s like that in my humble opinion. Then again, it’s a step.
Yeah, I agree with Trevor. This will obviously not be mainstream since its a designer label, so it is going to be expensive. When the purpose of buying it is to protect sex worker, who are usually not very wealthy(unless it’s an adult model we are talking about), putting a high price tag will not serve its purpose. And GPS technology and resistance to shock(since it is a shoe), will double the cost. Alternate ways have to be thought. This shoe is just an IDEA..not an opportunity. I will be shocked if they are cheap!!
The best alternative would be to set up security cameras, but they might be a privacy issue with the college students.
I don’t believe the university could have done much more to prevent this type of incident. You already have to swipe in to get into the residence halls after a certain time, so I’m not sure how these guys got in (possibly someone else coming in at the same time, which means it’s the students responsibilities to not let anyone else in, especially that late at night. I know many, if not all, sororities give their girls pepper spray to carry with them. I think they should provide the same protection in the residence halls, and maybe have them available to purchase in all the dorms and dining halls.
I also like the loud alarm to scare away offenders, but I’m sure the aphrodite whore heals would not be a very good solution for anyone seeing as how they don’t seem appealing to anyone and they would probably would be way too expensive. This wouldn’t help catching the offendor either.
On tuesday we talked about the bra with a security device in it. It was said that this device can measure the heart rate of a woman and alert authorities when her heart rate suddenly jumps. There is also a button on the bra to turn it off just in case there is a false alarm. I am not a girl, so maybe I am wrong in saying this, but I wouldn’t want a bra with a button on it and a device inside tracking my heart rate, wouldn’t that be awkward and annoying? Also, if you are in fact attacked then what is that bra going to do to save you? The police are most likely not going to show up within ten minutes. If an attack is going to happen it is going to be over with pretty quickly. The shoes make more sense in that there is a loud alarm, but then again, those kind of look like the shoes that a prostitute might wear, but that’s just my opinion. I think that the best way to deal with the recent attacks is to have more security cameras in the elevator lobbies and entrances to the residence halls. My night guard, Dale, made the comment that this university is making over $85 million dollars from tuition. I don’t know if that is correct but he also said that the least they could do is put a light outside the entrance to the building so that he can at least see who is hanging around the outside of the building. Is that a logical request? I think so.
How about something a little more convenient for someone to wear. Incorporate it into a wrist watch or bracelet.
Safety is always a big issue on college campus and yes they try their best to keep everyone safe. But what about those rare incidents such as the VT shooting could we have something more realistic that can be used by both sexes? I mean come on how many guys are going to wear those big platform shoes? I agree that safety is a big issue though that needs to be heavily addressed not only on college campuses but every where