By Haley Egle
Murphy News Service
University of Minnesota officials are committed this year to talking about safety issues concerning areas on and around the Twin Cities campuses.
Crime alert emails flooded the inboxes of University of Minnesota students, staff, and faculty last year to the point where it became an almost weekly occurrence.
The increase in crime near campus was a hot topic of discussion, prompting the hiring of more safe-walk escorts, expanded Gopher Chauffer and campus shuttle services, and even a petition to University officials to take a closer look at student safety.
University Services Vice President Pam Wheelock is addressing safety issues through a weekly safety email updates to students, staff and faculty members — directly in response to heightened concerns heading into the fall semester.
“I’m a firm believer in the notion that a well-informed community is an asset to public safety,” Wheelock said in her first safety update email of the school year.
There are three primary ways the University communicates safety issues with the community: crime-alert emails, safety-update emails and text alerts.
Tim Busse, communications director of University Services, said his department and the University of Minnesota Police Department have implemented changes in an effort to improve security on campus.
This year’s changes include reduced public access hours to University buildings, more lighting in walkways and more security cameras.
Students on campus say they appreciate the University’s efforts, but think more is left to be done.
“There are definitely places on campus that are still not well lit. They’ve done a better job of making it more lit, but there’s room for improvement,” senior Rachel McGuinan said.
Sarah Barchus, also a senior, weighed in on the increase in cameras saying, “It’s only really there for dealing with the aftermath as opposed to prevention.
“I mean it may deter a few I suppose if they’re concerned about getting caught,” Barchus said, “but in reality the types of people who may be entering into these crimes aren’t necessarily going to be all that concerned that there’s a camera there.”
Busse cites the bust of a major black market electronic ring centered in Minneapolis last month as having a positive impact on theft and robbery rates on and around campus. University of Minnesota Deputy Police Chief Chuck Miner pointed out that many of the robberies last year, including the electronics ring bust, happened off campus, and were handled by the Minneapolis Police Department.
But McGuinan said the bust doesn’t completely ease her mind regarding her safety on campus. “I feel a little bit safer, but at the same time it’s not going to affect how I live my life. I’m not going to walk alone now because that was busted. It’s a sense of security a little bit, but not really,” McGuigan said.
Despite skepticism from some students about how effective the steps taken by University officials and police will be, Busse said he thinks that the increased lines of communication in combination with the new measures will make for a safer campus.
“The campus community is much more aware about living in an urban area, they’re much wiser,” Busse said.
Haley Egle is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.
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