Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 23, 1995                   TAG: 9501230094
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

VCU WORRIED RICHMOND'S CRIME COULD HURT IMAGE

``Somebody might say if the city of Richmond is bad, we must be bad,'' said Henry Rhone, the interim vice provost for student affairs.

``The perception is this is not a safe place,'' said Robert Gilmer, a member of the board of visitors.

The board and university leaders discussed the possible negative effect of the city's violence and its subsequent publicity at a meeting last week after the board's student affairs committee presented a report.

Committee Chairman Richard Arenstein declared: ``VCU is an extremely safe campus.'' But it's not always seen that way.

The report said, ``The crime figures for the entire city of Richmond are often reported in the media and give an extremely negative perception of the university.''

Virginia Commonwealth is in the heart of a city that saw homicides climb to a record 160 last year. But Richmond recently has been promoting a regional view of crime. When viewed regionally - rather than zeroing in on the city - the Richmond metropolitan area has a relatively low crime rate, officials assert.

Still, there's the nagging question of perception.

Dr. Alvin Schexnider, vice provost for undergraduate studies, said, ``The perception is something we want to combat.''

Dr. Grace Harris, the university's provost, pointed out that Richmond does not have a high crime rate, but rather ``a high homicide rate in specific areas.''

Besides informing students and parents of the protection offered by campus police officers and escort services, the university plans to educate the media about crime statistics through its news bureau.

From statistics released earlier this year, it appears the campus has a relatively low incidence of violent crime. In its latest report, Virginia Commonwealth said that, from July 1993 to June 1994, eight assaults, four robberies and one rape were reported to campus police.

The bigger problem is the immediate areas surrounding Virginia Commonwealth's academic campus and the Medical College of Virginia campus, where an additional 26 assaults, 52 robberies, five rapes and four slayings were reported in 1993.

Schexnider told the board that college enrollment now stands at 19,248, a drop of 266 from a comparable period last year. But he said he didn't believe fear of crime was keeping prospective students away.

``We're in a trough in '90s,'' Schexnider said, referring to a decline in the pool of college-age students. But he said he believes the worst is over, and enrollment should begin rising.