2008 Woodie Awards
SGA approves security cameras
Laura Budzyna
Issue date: 1/27/05 Section: News
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The bill, which was written by Junior Senator Marcus Hughes '06, proposes installing cameras near backpack drop-off points outside of dining halls. These cameras would be tape-feed, not live, and students would be able to review these tapes at Public Safety in the case of a theft.
The Senate agreed to start a four-month trial period in Proctor dining hall to test the effectiveness of the approved camera system with a maximum of three cameras. After the trial period, the Commons Administration, Treasurer's Office, Public Safety and possibly a student subcommittee will decide whether to continue the use of the cameras.
The SGA hopes that the bill will address what SGA President Andrew Jacobi '05 calls "a rash of theft" that broke out on campus in October 2004. According to Public Safety reports, there was a marked increase in the number of stolen bikes, backpacks and other belongings during the fall semester, as well as several reports of dorm room intruders and the incident of a student being threatened at knifepoint.
Since the fall, the SGA has been discussing ways to address this recent upsurge in campus crime, with particular concern for preventing future crimes and restoring a feeling of security to the College. The SGA conducted a cursory dining hall survey on campus safety in November and then sent out a more comprehensive e-mail survey in December. The survey questions included whether or not students felt safe at the College, whether they had personally experienced theft and what measures they would be comfortable taking to prevent future crime on campus.
According to the SGA results, the majority of students who responded to the survey agreed that the installation of security cameras outside dining halls would decrease the instances of theft, especially since the dining halls were shown in the survey to be the most common locations for theft of personal belongings. However, the majority of students did not approve of the same cameras screening campus bike racks.