Photo by Jason W. Spencer
Billy Gibson
Reporter
February 24, 2006
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Security Guard Bruce Center displays new wand.
Photo by Jason W. Spencer |
With all the problems construction has caused, students may
not have noticed some of the changes to safety and security that are happening
on campus outside of the new convocation center project. The addition of a new
security tracking device and upgrades to campus facilities are just some of the
changes being made on campus.
“We have made for a safer campus lately because we have better trained security
guards now,” said Vice President for Student Development Mark Fox. “Some
complaints arose from students over the availability and presence of security on
campus and we began the ‘wand’ system during the last school year for a price of
$1,000 per year.”
All security guards have a wand that they touch to a sensor button in strategic
places or high traffic areas. Some buildings have multiple check points and
sensor buttons on the outside of the building. The system enables Fox to read
the digital records of when guards are making their rounds during their
particular shifts.
“It’s for the safety of the students and security alike,” Fox said. “We know
that security is doing their job and we can keep track of when and where they
were during their shifts.”
According to Facilities Manager Jonathan Robinson, the physical plant monitors
safety and security issues for Milligan in other ways.
“We are constantly making sure that areas on campus stay lit and that emergency
signs are operable,” Robinson said. “This past October we replaced all the exit
signs and emergency lights in Webb Hall. We have upgraded the fire alarm systems
in Seeger Chapel and the Fieldhouse which included installing all new pull
stations and horn strobes.” The previous alert system did not include strobe
lights
“Safety issues take the highest priority for us,” Robinson said.
When asked about the idea of installing a hot button emergency alert system like
some universities have installed around their campus, Robinson noted one such
device is already on campus.
“The red phone located outside of Sutton calls to security in their office at
the physical plant as soon as the phone is picked up,” Robinson said. “If no one
is there to receive the call, then it is automatically forwarded to their cell
phones that they carry. The phone does work; however, it takes constant abuse by
students and is constantly in need of repair,”
Some students have talked about the idea of changing from key locks to key-cards
in dorm rooms and other places on campus. This type of system can track who
enters a building or specific room and when. Other colleges, such as East
Tennessee State University, have installed such systems.
“The key-card system has been discussed a lot, but usually nothing happens
because it ends up becoming a funding issue, Robinson said. We would also
require another staff person to handle the system full-time if it was
installed.”
An exact price on replacing the locks around campus is not known but was
estimated in the thousands.
We have looked into replacing the doors and locks,” Fox said. “The change would
cost a lot of money, and we haven’t really had an instance which requires
tighter security on that end.”
The information on all incidents reported on the Milligan campus is available to
anyone via the Federal Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act and can be
found in the student development office.
“This packet contains statistics and information from the past 12 years, and is
updated each calendar year,” Fox said.
The report as of Jan. 18, 2006, shows that over the past 10 years the majority
of incidents reported fall under the category of larceny. Fifty-six incidents of
larceny, defined as “incidents of items taken from someone’s room, textbooks
taken from a lobby or items stolen from a storage building,” have taken place
over that time span.