New safety precautions implemented in dorms

By Johanna Mitchell

Last Tuesday, a 69-year-old homeless man entered the lobby of Heafey Law Library with a roofing hatchet hidden in his coat, said Santa Clara police spokesman Lt. Mike Sellers.

Police arrested the suspicious man, identified as Guy Clark, who had been questioned by officers for trespassing in other local areas in the past. Clark offered no reason for being on campus or carrying the weapon, Sellers said.

The incident was the first of its kind, said Assistant Director of Campus Safety Phil Beltran, although Santa Clara's open campus leaves buildings easily accessible to non-affiliates. The main entry doors of the law library -- along with the doors of many other buildings on campus -- are open to community members, but also to potentially dangerous persons, theft and vandalism.

Stronger lock systems, more security cameras and additional staff hours are just a few of many new security features coming to campus this year in an effort to curb threats to student belongings and personal safety.

The security upgrades are aimed at what Beltran calls "hardening the target": making campus as safe as possible given the open nature of university grounds.

Many security upgrades were planned prior to the start of the school year, said university administrators, while others came in the wake of criminal offenses on campus.

In September, seven laptops and an iPod were taken from Sobrato Residence Hall by two unaffiliated men, and another unaffiliated man was arrested for attempted burglary in Graham Complex.

Last weekend, all 63 of Sobrato's doors received "dual validation" systems, and are now unlocked by the swipe of a resident's Access card and the entry of a numerical code, said Mako Ushihara, housing facilities director.

Sophomore Elizabeth Kightlinger, one of the students whose laptop was stolen during the Sobrato break-in, said she feels a little safer with the new lock system. Sobrato houses offices and classrooms as well as student residences, and though the main doors were previously open during regular business hours, they are now locked all day, open only to Santa Clara Access card holders.

This policy took effect immediately following the Sobrato theft incident Sept. 12, but Director of Residence Life Scott Strawn said many security updates now being integrated were already slated for this fall.

In response to a pilot program performed last spring in Swig and Campisi Residence Halls, university administrators are discussing the possible addition of more security cameras -- at least 80 on a phased approach, said Ushihara.

About 40 cameras are already being used in public areas of campus, parking lots and at doors that require Access cards for entry, said Beltran. Output from some cameras in high-traffic areas is monitored by on-duty Campus Safety officers, while others serve as digital records for reference.

Beltran said he remembers several instances in which officers monitoring security cameras were able to respond to activities that would have otherwise gone unreported, including a fight and a student who had fallen unconscious into a bush, out of view from passers-by.

Already scheduled renovations to several residence hall elevators will provide a window for cameras to be installed with minimal inconvenience to students, said Ushihara. Dunne Residence Hall will see the innovation within the next five months, he said, and Swig is slated to follow suit by next summer.

A number of staffing adjustments have also been made to combat the entry of potentially dangerous people. Residence hall desk receptionists are now scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., rather than 9 a.m. to midnight, an alteration Strawn said was planned prior to recent thefts.

Desk staff members also have more responsibilities. Starting at 9 p.m., all residents entering the buildings must show identification to a receptionist.

Visitors are required to show identification to desk staff, as well, and must be accompanied by a resident at all times. Practices used in the security pilot program last spring, such as holding visitors' identification cards and keeping a visitor log, will not be implemented campus-wide at this time, said Strawn.

Students must also take responsibility in monitoring their surroundings for suspicious persons, said Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life.

"Our open attitude is being used against us," said Beltran, who worries that students are not reporting suspicious persons out of uncertainty, or even out of fear of profiling.

Strawn said most on-campus thieves are students. "Students don't like that information, but it's true," he said.

University administrators are asking students to keep their belongings safe by locking their doors when leaving, keeping identification on them at all times and being aware of their environment.

Faculty, staff and students should also take precautions to keep themselves and others safe by contacting Campus Safety whenever they see a suspicious person on university grounds, said Beltran.

"If you are afraid to confront a person, call us, and we will do the confronting," said Beltran.

"Students are our best security system," Strawn said, "but all students need to participate in order for that system to work."

Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu.