May 8, 2009 8:10 pm US/Eastern
Wesleyan U. Shooting Puts Spotlight On Stalking
CBS 2 HD Speaks To Students and Experts About What To Do If Put In A Very Difficult And Dangerous Position
By JOSH LANDIS, CBS 2 HD News
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (CBS) ―
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Wesleyan University shooting suspect Stephen Morgan looks on during his arraignment in a Connecticut court on May 8, 2009.
CBS
There were warning signs that Stephen Morgan was allegedly capable of deadly violence -- from his disturbed writings to an old harassment complaint Johanna Justin-Jinich filed herself.
CBS 2 HD spoke to students at Wesleyan University and experts about obsessions that get out of control.
A violent crime shattered the serenity on this campus, but it takes far less to shatter someone's sense of security when it comes to stalking.
"It's very terrifying because it was out of the blue and no one expected it at all," freshman Elizabeth Cothern said.
"To meet the definition of stalking in New York state, one needs a repeated pattern of harassment; numerous incidences -- phone calling, texting, showing up at a person's place of employment, or home, school… that sort of thing," said Dr. Michelle Galietta, a stalking expert from John Jay College.
More than 1 million women and 370,000 men are stalked every year.
When asked if this incident changed the way she and her friends think about stalking, Cothern said, "Yes, definitely, I think we have to be very careful and I think it could have happened to anyone"
When teenagers leave for college they give up some of the privacy and security they had at home. But the young women CBS 2 HD spoke to say this university would take any report of stalking very seriously.
"I think there would be a great response. I think every one here is well trained at telling you the next steps, because students may not know the next steps. People in general may not know the next steps," freshman Rosemary Pierson said.
Galietta has plenty of tips for dealing with stalkers.
"The important thing to do is report it to authorities," Dr. Galietta said. "If you are in a school you want to both alert the criminal justice authorities as well as internal dean or provost and that sort of thing at the school."
Justin-Jinich called the police when she was stalked, but later declined to press charges. There's no way of knowing whether that would have saved her life. But for the 1 in 12 women who will be stalked in their lifetimes reporting it is their best way of staying safe.
Even when there's no conviction, stalking takes a toll on campus. Three in 10 female college students say they've been injured emotionally or psychologically by stalking.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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