Apathy toward crime in State College needs to eliminated, the community relations and crime and loss-prevention specialist for the borough police told an audience at yesterday's Town Day 1990.

"Victims of crime are everywhere . . . even in Happy Valley," said David Caster, the event's keynote speaker.

Sponsored by The Organization for Town Independent Students, the event, held in the Barclay Banquet Room at the Day's Inn, 240 S. Pugh St., drew about 40 people.

Members of the downtown business community and the public were invited to attend.

"We reached many people today who learned some things about safety they were previously unaware of," said OTIS President Judy Falce.

Caster said he encouraged community participation in the prevention of crime. He added that education and practice of crime prevention techniques were important factors in creating a safe community.

Following his speech, audience members had the chance to ask questions to the panel of four town and campus representatives in an open forum discussion on the safety issue.

The speakers stressed the problems of crime against people with a strong focus on the problems of sexual assault.

Robyn Walls, director of the Undergraduate Student Government's Department of Safety, spoke on the need to overcome the problem of sexual assault.

"Education needs to start very, very early so that healthy, safe relationships between men and women can develop," Walls said.

"When someone is the victim of a violent crime in their own residence, they lose the feeling of safety in the one place they felt most secure," Falce said.

Keith Salas, a member of the Interfraternity Council Community Relations Committee, said he attended the event as a representative of IFC's interest in community safety.

Although Salas said he agreed the focus on stopping sexual crimes was very important, he said the discussion lacked emphasis on other crimes.

"Vandalism is a big problem that I felt needed to be addressed," he said.

Salas said he believed the student attendance was low due to the fact that the event was badly publicized. Poor publicity may also have caused some noteworthy community members to miss the event, he added.

Yet Falce said she was pleased with this year's event, although she said she felt it started slowly.

"The audience was reluctant to participate at first, but it picked up towards the end," she said.