ABOVE PHOTO: Lincoln University President Brenda A. Allen (Photo/lincoln.edu)
Lincoln University President Brenda A. Allen has issued the following statement regarding the recent death of student Jawine Evans:
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Jawine Evans, a fourth-year student at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, was fatally wounded, allegedly by a family member of another Lincoln University student, during an altercation involving at least four other students. The Lincoln University community mourns the loss of this young man as it searches for ways to understand this tragic event.
Homicides on college campuses are rare occurrences, and Lincoln University is no exception. Yet in the aftermath of this tragedy, some have painted this instance as either characteristic of Lincoln or at the least “inevitable given the campus culture.”
But such an opinion belies the crime statistics posted on the university website. These data show that there has been a precipitous decline in crime on Lincoln’s campus over the last decade. Consider that campus arrests for violations of the university’s alcohol policy went from 30 in 2011 to two in 2019, and arrests for drug offenses declined from 16 to two over the same period.
Improvement in campus safety at Lincoln is no coincidence. In 2018, the university engaged Margolis Healy, a consulting firm specializing in campus safety, security, and regulatory compliance, to perform an overall assessment of the public safety function on the campus.
Among the many recommendations was the need to adopt best practices related to 21st-century community policing. Over the past four years, Lincoln’s public safety officers and community constituents have been working together to provide a safe and secure campus. Community relations between officers and others have improved tremendously, as evidenced by the unit receiving an award for excellent service in November 2021. Since last week’s tragic events, students and their families have requested that the Office of Public Safety continue to be a visible support on campus, which positively reflects the relationship between public safety officers and campus constituents.
Yet, the tragic death of Mr. Evans did occur
and the Lincoln University community is left to find a path forward from this tragedy. We will begin this journey by providing opportunities to listen to students, families, faculty, and staff to discern their views on the strengths and challenges facing our community. It is also important that we hear from our trustees, alumni, and friends regarding their perceptions of the institution over the years and to gain insight into how we might think more deeply about supporting the contemporary Lincoln student. Finally, we want to hear from the Lincoln student of tomorrow toward building the community they will seek to join in the coming years.
Over the past decade, we have seen Lincoln University claim victory on many fronts. Retention and graduation rates are on the rise. More than a third of our graduates over the last decade have gone on to pursue graduate or professional degrees. Involvement in service-learning has increased from 12% to 76% over the past three years, while students doing research or internships have increased from about 40% to 60% in that period.
This is what Lincoln University is — an institution that has for 168 years prepared its graduates to go into the world and soar.
Like almost any college in this nation, Lincoln will face challenges. It is how we learn from what we experience that matters.
We will grieve for Jawine as he will remain in our hearts and minds and we will honor his life by making Lincoln the best it can be.”
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