Council pushes for tighter security

Author: Zamir Ahmed

Recommendations calling for the locking of Atwater Dining Hall and the installation of cameras for a test period in Proctor Dining Hall were approved by Community Council on Nov. 13 in an effort to combat theft on campus. The recommendations will now head to Old Chapel for consideration.

Under the recommendation, Atwater Dining Hall would require an access card to open doors to the building until the completion of Winter Term. The move is designed to help determine whether campus thefts are being made by a member of the College community or by an outside source.

"If locking Atwater greatly reduces the number of thefts there, we have at least succeeded in narrowing the list of perpetrators to non-college persons," said Dean Atyia '08.5, a student representative on the Council. "If not, we may be able to safely assume the culprit is someone within the community."

Other members of the Council see the locking of Atwater as in line with the continual lockdown of a majority of buildings on campus and say it will not cause students problems.

"I don't think its really a big deal because the building is already wired to be locked," said Peyton Coles '08, a Council student representative, "and people are already used to using their access cards to get into other buildings."

Some members of the Council did not believe that a lockdown of Atwater would reduce thefts because of the openness of the College community.

"I do not feel that locking Atwater Dining Hall will significantly decrease the number of thefts that occur because Middlebury is the type of place where students hold doors open for those without access cards - which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing," said Annie Williams '07, student co-chair of Community Council.

While the group did not come up with a definite proposal for the type of system to be used in the building, the Council did decide that the measure is a necessary step to reduce theft. It also discussed the possibility of using cameras from the Museum of Art or installing new cameras in the building that would be connected to the museum system.

A similar measure was passed by the Student Government Association two years ago that called for the installation of cameras in Proctor on a four-month trial basis. Many students, however, objected to the idea, citing apprehension over the precedent that would be set and encouraged other less intrusive alternatives to protect student property. The student movement ultimately defeated the measure and no cameras were installed in the dining hall.

Members of the Council felt that students should understand that the cameras would not be used to monitor them and is a strong step towards reducing theft.

"Ideally, we wouldn't need cameras at all, but with the increasing amount of thefts that have occurred over the past few months outside the dining halls, doing nothing would be negligent," said Atyia. "I hope students will realize the cameras are designed to provide a safer environment and not to infringe upon their privacy."

"It is unclear whether or not the people who are stealing belongings are members of the College community," said Williams. "It is our hope that these cameras will help determine the nature of these thefts. The footage from the cameras will be accessed only in the event of a reported theft, so I do not believe that the installation of cameras is a cause for concern."

Some members of the Council expressed unease about the decision.

"I guess I was against the cameras because it seems to be a more aggressive measure than locking Atwater and I was, and still am, hopeful that the community can deal with theft without resorting to security cameras," said Coles.

"I hope it gets people talking about the ways in which we as a community want to address the security of our campus," Coles cautioned. "The dialogue that surfaced in the wake of the similar Community Council discussion a couple years back served as a good indicator of how our community felt about this issue, and I think those with concerns should raise them."

In addition to the installation of cameras and the locking of Atwater, the Council also passed other recommendations to reduce campus theft. The recommendations support everything from the continued monitoring of theft on campus by Public Safety, to the posting of signs in the Student Mail Center reminding students to lock their mailboxes after retrieving their mail.

The reminder would come after an increase in thefts this semester of employment checks and mail from student mailboxes.

The recommendation also calls for a reminder to students about taking advantage of direct deposit payments available through the Student Employment Office.

"The Council has developed some sound ideas that I believe balance the need to protect personal property while keeping the campus a place where the community members feel as if they can live their lives without being over encumbered by security concerns," said Assistant Professor of Psychology Matthew Kimble, a Council faculty representative.

The Council believes that the recommendations will send a strong message to the community about the increase of theft on campus this semester and will reassure students with concerns about safety.

"Students can be sure that [campus] theft will neither be tolerated nor treated lightly," explained Atyia.