"Holey" Campus Security?

By Jennifer L. Forkel ’11 and Brian P. Lewin ‘11

Whether it is windy and snowing, or sunny and warm, there is little doubt about the beauty of the Holy Cross campus high atop Mount Saint James. The school is so small; one can easily meet several friends or acquaintances in the short walk down to class everyday. With restricted vehicle access and the numerous gates separating Holy Cross from the greater College Hill neighborhood, it is easy to believe we are in our own exclusive community. With the plethora of street lamps on seemingly every corner and students busily from place to place, even late at night on weekdays, most students do not think of campus security on a regular basis. Every weekend, hundreds of Holy Cross students, many of them freshman, make the short trek off campus to parties in the surrounding neighborhood with very little thought of safety. Recent events this semester demonstrate that Holy Cross is not an exclusive community and that crime can occur right outside our gates.

Over the past decade, Holy Cross has embraced the community in which we are privileged to reside. The Hogan Campus Center serves as a conference hall and convention center for the local area and generates needed revenue for the campus. Hence, it is understandable why the campus needs to be fairly accessible, especially via Gate Seven at the top of the hill. As part of the Worcester Consortium, Holy Cross has hosted events and taken part in events at other area colleges in order to further the interests of the individual colleges and “advance higher education regionally.” This does provide certain benefits, including the ability to bring in guest lecturers and hold concerts at an affordable rate. While there are no official statistics on ridership, I can say from witnessing the Consortium shuttle arrive outside the Hogan Campus Center, that very few Holy Cross students use the service on a regular basis. Granted, the shuttle may have an augmentation of ridership during big events such as the Holy Cross Spring Concert, but still it appears that students from other colleges use the service more than Holy Cross students.

The fact of the matter is Holy Cross has a number of activities for students on both weekdays and weekends, largely due to the efforts of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and our strong Division I athletics program. There is no need for Holy Cross students to venture out to other campuses when there is so much to do here on the Hill. Every Saturday night, campus organizations take turns hosting The Edge, dance club at Crossroads. There is no need for any of these dances to be open to any students from other colleges. The policy requiring students to display student id’s at the door was implemented after local high school students frequently gained entrance to the dance over the past several years. The fact that anybody can just walk on campus late at night on a Saturday is extremely concerning. The perpetrators of the sexual assault this semester were on campus, in part, because The Edge was open to consortium students that evening.

Although I have not frequented the Edge since freshman orientation, I stopped by this year the weekend before the assault. Upon entering The Edge, I started to pull out my Holy Cross student ID to enter but was greeted by a tall man who came over with a stamp and said, “I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care” repeatedly as he went to each of my friends to stamp their hands. I was shocked that he did not care whether I was a Holy Cross student or not. Rape does not discriminate nor is the student in any way to blame for being put in that terrible situation. Everyone says “it will never happen to me” or “I’m not going to be that stupid to let that happen to me”. The simple truth, however, is that it does happen and you never know to whom it will occur. Girls, we also have to remember that even though this terrible situation was caused by non-Holy Cross students, rape can happen to anyone by anyone. Be safe and always stay with a friend. Rape happens with or without alcohol, so just be careful while still having a good time. Remember, no matter how safe you think our campus might be, you never know who might have access to our campus.
There is no doubt that due to the frequent traffic in and out of the Hogan Center and the Hart Athletic Center during the day requires open access to upper campus, there should be security measures in place at night and, in particular, on weekends. Our Department of Public Safety adds to the security on campus with vehicle and foot patrols, but there is only so much they can do by themselves. I can honestly say that I feel safer at night with Public Safety in the vicinity, but it is physically and fiscally impossible to guard every corner of campus at all times. In my two years here at Holy Cross, I have never had a problem with the security on campus. I have come to respect public safety immensely and have absolutely no problems with them. However, something must be done about security in areas that the public safety is not present in, such as The Edge. There needs to be some form of a check at gate seven on weekends, particularly at night. Many colleges require students to present identification to an officer prior to driving on campus at night. To many students, the College Hill area appears less threatening than other local areas surrounding college campus, including our Jesuit sister school in the Bronx, Fordham University. At Providence College, students are required to travel through the main gate at night on weekends and make contact with officers at the gate to gain entry.

Our residence halls are seemingly well secured with card access required at all entrance points and card access required again on most floors. Still, however, there are a number of male floors that are not protected by swipe access on the Hill residence halls. Another frequent problem involves the propping of side doors or secondary entrance ways because there is no swipe to gain entrance at those points. The side doors of Clark, Lehy, and Healy do not have swipes, but the side doors at Mulledy and Hanselman have swipe access. The idea of the card swipe is to ensure almost fool proof security. Technology can only go so far. Students need to take responsibility for their dorm security, also. Students frequently swipe in students without ideas or hold doors open for anybody who happens by. While I love the friendliness of students here at the Cross, I would not mind someone asking me if I actually live in a particular residence hall before arbitrarily swiping me in. If you do not know somebody and they look suspicious, do not let them into the residence hall.

Last year, Holy Cross implemented a first-rate emergency alert system to notify the community of impending emergencies including a loud siren and public address system located on the roof of several buildings, voicemails and text messages, and email alerts. This system was widely credited for helping to stop a shooting at Western Kentucky University in October. Still, however, if suspicious activity or a crime is not reported promptly, fellow members of the Holy Cross community could be put at risk. Following the events on campus this semester, numerous students complained about the administration’s response to the situation without taking into account their own responsibility for maintaining safety on campus.

A very positive aspect of security on campus is the emergency telephone system. Emergency telephones with blue lights above them are located on residence halls and certain buildings and allow persons to contact Public Safety by simply pressing a button. The telephones can also be used to dial on campus numbers for non-emergency purposes. The concept is ideal for emergency situations, especially with a unique, bright blue light shinning above them, but the problem is that many of the boxes are covered in ivy or obscured by foliage. Furthermore, many locations on lower campus do not have a telephone box or are located on only one side of the building. With the nature of our campus, many of the boxes are bunched together because residence halls are located in one particular area, while stretches of road are left unprotected. It would be comforting to see more emergency telephones on campus, especially near the entrances to campus such as the road by the Fieldhouse. Public Safety does offer a twenty-four hour escort service for students who do not feel safe or comfortable walking across campus.

The Fieldhouse presents another security conundrum. Every weeknight at ten, there is open gym in the Fieldhouse for Holy Cross students. Frequently, however, students do not have access to courts as a result of unauthorized people from the area using the gym facilities. According to Public Safety records, officers have been dispatched to the Fieldhouse several times to either remove these unauthorized persons from the campus or take reports of theft from lockers or other areas. Even secured lockers have been broken into. As a member of the Student Programs and Involvement (SPI) recreation staff responsible for setting up intramurals in the Fieldhouse, I have had to ask people to leave courts on several occasions. The proximity of the Fieldhouse to College Street and the open gate allows for easy access for non-Holy Cross students.

Off-campus residents have practiced proactive safety measures for quite some time, as they must travel back and forth on city streets in order to get to class and events on campus. Most students will either walk in groups or take their cars, even for just running up to Hogan to check mail. I know several females who life off campus and will never walk alone, even in the daytime. Still, however, the College Hill area appears safer than other areas of Worcester, at least in terms of reported thefts and assaults. The incident off-campus earlier this year demonstrates the dangerousness and proliferation of weapons in the area. Public Safety conducts reliable patrols on campus, but it seems to the student body that the only time Worcester Police are patrol the off-campus areas are when parties are abundant on weekends. According to a plan presented to off-campus residents and incoming first years at the beginning of this year, the Worcester Police are increasing patrols of the area and are working even more closely with Holy Cross Public Safety to ensure the safety of students. Still, however, off-campus residents would appreciate a more visible presence by Worcester Police.

Recent events have brought to light the vulnerabilities in Holy Cross’ security plan. No campus can be completely secure without being isolationist in nature. Nonetheless, there is much room for improvement, particularly in limiting access to non-students at night and on weekends. This needs to be a joint effort between members of the Holy Cross administration and students. There are plans for joint committees on public safety and sexual assault, but as of November 16th, nothing had been released to the student body about the endeavors. Holy Cross, through the Department of Public Safety, offers a Rape Aggression defense course, and will be offering classes on sexual assault next semester. Holy Cross is a fairly safe community, but improvements must be made and made promptly to ensure the safety of all in the Holy Cross community. FR