At Tennessee State University in Nashville, Jarrell Shanklin woke up Oct. 15 ready to hit the road for the university's four-day fall break. But there was a hitch in the sophomore business major's plan: His car was gone from the parking lot in front of Boyd Hall, stolen while he slept.

"I think security should be tighter as far as being on the lot instead of relying on (surveillance) cameras," said Shanklin, who is from Jackson, Tenn. "More police should be out here watching the campus."

Police and other officials insist their campuses are generally safe places, and annual crime statistics tend to back them up. But while theft is often the most common crime, rapes, assaults and even gun-related deaths are always a possibility on campuses that pride themselves on being open to the communities surrounding them.

Fear gained fuel after a Sept. 25 shooting at Vanderbilt University wounded one student in a residence hall and led to the injuries of two more. Neither of the suspects was a student at the school.

"People want to move freely and feel like they're not in a police state," said August Washington, the new chief of police at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the state's largest school. "We view it as a mini-city, and we try to be the order maintenance guys."

Vanderbilt is now trying to find the balance between security and openness. One possible safety measure, which Vanderbilt was not using to keep track of visitors at the time of the shooting, is used routinely by a number of other local universities.

Students and administrators at several nearby schools said requiring all dormitory visitors to sign in and show identification at the front desk cuts down on misbehavior. TSU is among the schools that also keep visitors' ID cards or driver's licenses at the desk, giving them a good reason to act properly and sign out on time.

TSU dorm residents also must use a programmed electronic key device to get into their buildings, said Lawrence Carpenter, assistant director of residential life.

Heather Whited, a senior at Western Kentucky University, an hour from Nashville, said her school goes a step further. Even the residents of the dorms have to leave their IDs behind when they bring in a visitor.

"To me, it's a very effective way of ensuring that students are responsible for themselves and their guests when they're in the dorms," said Whited, who is from Kingston Springs in Cheatham County. "It's very strict, but I feel very safe."

The practice also means a dorm's staff knows who's been in the building and who hasn't. The staff of Vanderbilt's Morgan House couldn't answer that question after two men opened fire from an elevator into a hallway last month, and it took police several days to find the suspects.

But the leaders of Vanderbilt's safety task force said they're focusing more now on changing the culture of the school to stress personal accountability and discourage underage drinking.

Kate Morgan, president of Vanderbilt's Student Government Association and co-chairwoman of the task force, said some students don't think anything needs to change at the dorms, while others are pushing for tougher rules for visitors.

But David Williams, vice chancellor for student life and the panel's other co-chairman, acknowledged that changing the standards of acceptable behavior for students won't necessarily have much effect on outsiders.

"That's one of the real difficult things," he said. "That's one of the things that goes back to openness and all of its facets. … This issue is not for the faint of heart."

Experts say there's no way, short of installing metal detectors all over the place — now, a handful of local schools use them just for special events — to make sure no one brings a gun on campus and into a building.

But a combination of surveillance cameras, emergency phones, controlled access, after-hours escorts and police visibility can go a long way to deter major crimes and keep students safe, they said.

"The appropriate thing to do is to provide basic security that's not unduly intrusive," said Daniel Carter, the Knoxville-based senior vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a nonprofit group that has its headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Trevecca Nazarene University has reduced the points of entry to its campus over the years, creating a safe campus at the top of a hill on sometimes unsafe Murfreesboro Pike in Nashville, said Norm Robinson, the school's director of security. "There aren't as many outsiders coming in as you would think," he said.

Christine Huckleberry, a junior who recently transferred to Trevecca, said she hasn't had any trouble. "I walk back from my night class, and I feel safe," she said.

"You may have a secure plan, but if you've got a student who props a door open, all your secure plans go down the drain," said Roy Brewer, interim chief of public safety at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. "We try to educate students on why that's not a good idea."

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