2008 Woodie Awards
Campus security needs to provide better safety for St. Joe's students
A closer look at the ongoing inadequacies that are leaving students in unsafe situations on campus
Michael Daly '08
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Campus security is still failing us. The bureaucracy is astounding and the rules are ridiculous. Their rules, their mission, their job, and their advice all seem to be at odds with each other. It truly boggles the mind that an organization that is supposed to be called public safety will only pick up students if they are waiting on dark public street corners late at night.
For many of our parents and many of us, campus security was billed as the way for students to safely get around the local area. They are failing all of us. The positions they are taking, the rules they have set up are failing us and putting people into dangerous positions. This year, we no longer can take an escort from a private residence within the campus vicinity to another private residence. No longer can you wait inside of a safe residence and wait to see the escort arrive.
This would not be as great a problem if escorts were prompt. I personally have been left waiting for almost a half hour at 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. If there is a mass exodus of students catching escorts at that time, why didn't I see a single other person on the escort? Yet another Friday night, I was forced to walk from 63rd Street and City Avenue because the shuttle had arrived early and did not wait, and there was only one escort van running for the entirety of campus. The officer on duty taking phone calls flat out told me that this was the reason for the delays. This reveals an astounding lack of planning. There is simply no way that a single van is capable of making it from one end of campus to another if students need to be picked up rapidly. With this being billed as a safe way to get around campus, and around the area, are we really getting what we are paying for?
Campus security also shows an incredible disregard for many of the students. Recently a student who had a death in his family and had a car brought down to him so that he could make a long drive back the following day. He went to Bill Mattioli and attempted to ask for an overnight pass for the vehicle so he would be able to leave the following day. He was flat out turned down for the pass. This story strikes me as contrary to our supposed school character, from what we stand for. Campus Security seems not to care at all for what the students need, and honestly, I cannot figure out what they think their raison d'etre actually is. They are putting students into dangerous situations, and continually showing not a care in the world for how they affect the students it is their job to serve. It makes sense that with the amount of crime around our neighborhood, St. Joe's should make sure to have a certain minimum number of escorts running at all times. Campus security isn't here to protect the campus. It's here to protect us.
For many of our parents and many of us, campus security was billed as the way for students to safely get around the local area. They are failing all of us. The positions they are taking, the rules they have set up are failing us and putting people into dangerous positions. This year, we no longer can take an escort from a private residence within the campus vicinity to another private residence. No longer can you wait inside of a safe residence and wait to see the escort arrive.
This would not be as great a problem if escorts were prompt. I personally have been left waiting for almost a half hour at 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. If there is a mass exodus of students catching escorts at that time, why didn't I see a single other person on the escort? Yet another Friday night, I was forced to walk from 63rd Street and City Avenue because the shuttle had arrived early and did not wait, and there was only one escort van running for the entirety of campus. The officer on duty taking phone calls flat out told me that this was the reason for the delays. This reveals an astounding lack of planning. There is simply no way that a single van is capable of making it from one end of campus to another if students need to be picked up rapidly. With this being billed as a safe way to get around campus, and around the area, are we really getting what we are paying for?
Campus security also shows an incredible disregard for many of the students. Recently a student who had a death in his family and had a car brought down to him so that he could make a long drive back the following day. He went to Bill Mattioli and attempted to ask for an overnight pass for the vehicle so he would be able to leave the following day. He was flat out turned down for the pass. This story strikes me as contrary to our supposed school character, from what we stand for. Campus Security seems not to care at all for what the students need, and honestly, I cannot figure out what they think their raison d'etre actually is. They are putting students into dangerous situations, and continually showing not a care in the world for how they affect the students it is their job to serve. It makes sense that with the amount of crime around our neighborhood, St. Joe's should make sure to have a certain minimum number of escorts running at all times. Campus security isn't here to protect the campus. It's here to protect us.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
eflynn13
Elizabeth Flynn
posted 10/03/07 @ 10:44 AM EST
As a parent of an SJU student, I find the information in this article distressing. If true, these statements need to be address by those in charge at St. (Continued…)
Post a Comment