Editorial College courting crime

Author: [no author name found]

The release last week of the College's Annual Security Report, which showed the number of serious campus crimes in 2005 to have been fairly low, serves as a reminder of the hard work done by Public Safety. At the same time, however, the report reminds us of several important security initiatives that remain unfinished, some of which first came to the table years ago. Today, the main campus continues to lack a comprehensive network of blue light phones, the enhanced access residential system remains unfinished, and the theft of backpacks and valuables has become a serious problem.

Parents on campus this family weekend should notice that, for a 350-acre campus with densely wooded back areas and large open quads, the College's blue light security system is an embarassment. A pedestrian in danger anywhere on campus should always be within sight of a well-lit emergency call box, identified prominently with a blue light. In case it is unsafe for the pedestrian to remain at one call box, or in case the first phone does not work, every blue light should be within sight of another. If a phone is broken or the individual is being pursued, he or she should be able to see and run to reach the next phone without having to leave lit campus pathways, so that someone being pursued could hit the emergency button on each blue light he or she passed, informing Public Safety officers of his or her location, while continuing to walk towards safety. Today, years after the issue first became a campus-wide discussion, the College continues to lack a legitimate blue light network. Many of the most worrisome areas of campus, particularly the Ridgeline loop, do not have any visible blue lights. Most students can count the blue lights they know on a single hand. Without a working network of blue lights and blue light-marked emergency call boxes, the College is putting students at risk.

While we commend President Liebowitz and those who worked - against loud student complaints - to institute the 24-hour enhanced access residential system, again, the job remains unfinished. Students in the Mods and in small houses like Xenia and 82 Adirondack, have no swipe card security for their homes. As a result, most of the Mods are left unlocked all-day, and many all-night, making them a disturbingly easy target for crime at the periphery of the campus. Every campus building in which students live and sleep should be safeguarded by the 24-hour enhanced access residential system.

And as backpack thefts continue to occur, it is puzzling how anyone could still oppose the installation of security cameras in the public bag areas outside the dining halls. Public Safety officials, supporting the cameras, have said they could serve to gain clues on the culprits, and to deter thieves from committing crimes in the first place. The student arguments that have tripped up recommendations to install security cameras - arguments that these cameras would infringe on personal liberties or privacy rights, or make the campus look less safe - are irrational. Students need to be carrying laptops, expensive books and invaluable notebooks for classes, and it is impractical for every student to bring their bags into the dining hall. The need for security outside the dining hall is immediate.

These three initiatives have moved too slowly given the security that is at stake, and Public Safety is not the only office to blame. Public Safety administrators and officers have been and continue to be receptive of student and community concerns regarding their work and security on campus. But students, parents and alumni need to make concerns on these issues heard, and make concrete suggestions for improvements.

We hope the publication of our concerns will prompt all community members to join us in challenging Public Safety and Old Chapel to expedite progress on these important initiatives.