President Eli Capilouto and his administration have failed to adequately address concerns about student safety and well-being at the University of Kentucky. Thus, the Kentucky Kernel editorial board has reached a unanimous decision, calling on UK to improve its transparency with students.
UK’s crime log reports over 2,500 incidents occurred between Aug. 1, 2024, to Feb. 25, 2025. This includes over 600 assaults and over 50 sex offenses.
Below are the first 99 pages of the 300-page crime log.
UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said UKPD has seen an “uptick” of sexual assaults reported in comparison to previous years.
Crimes listed on the log are those that took place on campus, in or on non-campus buildings or property, on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus, or occurring within UK Police Department’s patrol jurisdiction, according to the UKPD website.
These numbers alone demand immediate and effective action from Capilouto and his administration.
A UK student reported a Lexington man, Chase McGuire, raped and strangled her in Chellgren Hall on Sept. 19, the dorm where she lived.
The Kentucky Kernel sued UK for denying its open records request to access a “list of non-UK student guests that entered Chellgren Hall on Sept. 20, 2024, between the hours of midnight and 8 p.m., and all records on any occasion where McGuire entered a UK residential hall this academic year,” according to the Kernel.
Students must have access to this information to verify whether or not the visitation policy is being enforced. Necessary change cannot occur if UK prevents students from accessing vital information. Our university cannot feign interest in protecting student safety while devoting its primary efforts to protecting its reputation.
On Sept. 1, two victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries after shots were fired at the South Limestone and Winslow Street intersection near Two Keys Tavern and Holmes Hall. Two days later, a UK student was robbed and threatened with a loaded gun outside of Patterson Hall and Boyd Hall.
On Nov. 3, people fled Raising Cane’s after shots were fired on the corner of Winslow and South Upper Street around 1 a.m. UKPD “mistakenly omitted the location details” with its first UK Alert, and a source stated that if the shooting had occurred hours earlier “the bullets could have hit students in the Esports Lounge,” according to the Kernel.
Reports like these inevitably lead students to one troubling conclusion: whether they are checking into a dorm, walking to the William T. Young Library or even standing right outside the UK Police Department, they can never feel entirely safe.
Students should not be greeted by sexual assault bulletins posted on their residence hall entrance, nor should they become accustomed to UK Alerts for shootings pinging their phones.
Yet, this is our current reality. At the bare minimum, this calls for transparency by Capilouto and his administration.
UK Residence Life announced in an email on Sept. 12, that it would increase security by partnering with Allied Universal to employ security officers to conduct community rounds in the residence halls and William T. Young Library, according to the Kernel.
UK Spokesperson Jay Blanton later confirmed this after the Kernel’s interview with Capilouto.
UK Residence Life’s announcement was unclear about when these security officers would operate, beyond the fact that they would work Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
In response to a shooting, robbery and reported case of sexual assault occurring on the same weekend, UKPD announced it would “be increasing its presence on North Campus and other residential areas on campus,” according to the Kernel.
UKPD offered no specifics as to what this “increase” entailed. Instead, they simply remarked on investing “more than $18 million … in on-campus safety initiatives over the last decade.”
The failure to be transparent and properly communicate does not end here.
While the crime log might accurately report incidents, students still remain aware of some incidents because UK fails to notify them through crime bulletins.
“If we feel like it’s an ongoing threat to the campus, then a crime bulletin is issued, so if there’s a sexual assault, even if it’s a known offender, but that offender is still on campus or still at large, then we deem that as an ongoing threat, and therefore a crime bulletin goes out,” Monroe said.
However, the Kernel has found several examples of reports of sexual harassment, assault and rape that were reported on the crime log, but students were not notified by a crime bulletin. This means, according to Monroe, these cases were not deemed an “ongoing threat.” As a result, most students do not receive vital information regarding crime reports on their campus.
For example, on Oct. 15, 2024, a rape was reported in Haggin Hall. Then, an incident of sexual misconduct was reported on the crime log on Dec. 8, 2024, in Pigman Hall, which UK did not notify students about through a crime bulletin. Students who did not take the time to dig through the crime log were likely unaware of these reported incidents.
No student should return to their residence hall in fear of what they might encounter, nor should they feel any discomfort while venturing out to grab fast food or drinks at a bar.
UKPD must devote more effort to engaging with organizations that represent students’ needs and concerns. Residence Life and UK Student Government Association’s Wildcats Safety Alliance Caucus can offer crucial insight into how the police can create a safer community for our university.
UK cannot assure students that the administration is properly addressing these problems while failing to notify them of these occurrences. Until Capilouto and his administration improve their communication, UK cannot feel like home for its students.
The remaining pages of the UK crime log are below.
