At approximately 12:00 A.M. on Sept. 26, the phones of students across campus buzzed with a message: “SU Urgent Alert- Police are responding to an incident near campus.” According to the SU Police Department, an individual was assaulted on campus at approximately 11:00 P.M. on Sept. 25 and had their bicycle stolen. 

According to an email sent out to students on Sept. 26, the suspects have not yet been identified or apprehended. 

The city of Salisbury and the surrounding area has one of the highest crime rates in the state of Maryland. The rate of violent crime alone is 11.91 per 1,000 residents, which is nearly triple Maryland’s violent crime rate of 4.26 per 1,000. 

Due to the open nature of Salisbury University, which melds into the greater Salisbury area, the crime problem has the capacity to pour into campus. Available data shows that there were several reported rapes, burglaries and at least one robbery reported on campus between 2021 and 2023.  

Despite the high prevalence of crime on campus and incidents like the Sept. 25 robbery and assault, the use, distribution and owning of self-defense items such as OC pepper spray is banned on campus; there is no self-defense exception to Section IV, Code O of the Community Standards, which prohibits dangerous chemicals. 

“Any student found in possession of a prohibited dangerous item is subject to immediate removal from the University,” the clause states. 

Jason Rhodes, the public spokesperson for Salisbury University, defended the code of conduct in a statement to local news in March, 2025, stating that SU has extensive safety measures in place. 

Rhodes acknowledged that students in possession of pepper spray, even for their personal safety, could face consequences. 

“They would be referred to a hearing. And again, the outcome of that hearing would determine any disciplinary action. And that could range anywhere from no action is necessary to a warning, all the way up through the range of disciplinary actions which maxed out at suspension or expulsion from the university,” he said.

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By COLIN McEVERS

Editor in Chief