Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Feb. 18, 1999, edition 1 / Page 12
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12 February 18, 1999 Focus Focus Section Topic of the Week: The Police of Elon College The Cops of Elon College - Town and Campus - Pmce or just Po-Po? j Chuck Gantos and Scott Nelson happy with Elon Security and Police Josh Phoebus The Pendulum With fountains, oak trees, and green grass surrounding the typical student, Elon becomes a quiet, “safe” place for all of who attend. Some have even gone so far as to describe the cam pus as a “bubble.” However, Elon’s reputation as a tranquil envi ronment did not oc cur overnight. Over the past three years, the division of Campus Secu rity and Police has made significant strides in providing protection for those students who call Elon College “home.” For starters, Elon has increased the number of foot patrols as well as targeted areas, such as the bushes along Jordan Center, where visibil ity can be improved. As a result, violent crime was down 67 percent in the December, 1998. These positive outcomes can be tied to a series of improvements made by the college three years ago. For instance, there was no se curity coverage on the weekends. Likewise, Elon lacked twenty-four hour coverage of the campus. On top of this, there was no campus police department specifi cally designed to keep the criminals “at bay.” Three years ago, Elon obtained a certified police force to compliment the already present se curity force. These changes were all part of a campaign spearheaded by Head of Campus Security and Police, Chuck Gantos. In the last few years. Gantos and his officers have spe cifically focused on increasing the level of student awareness of crimes. Campus Security officers make spe cial visits to those students living on-campus to establish a rapport and remind students about being safety-conscious. Jen McCort/TTie Pendulum The headquarters of Elon College Campus Security and Police is nestled in luxurious downtown Jordan Center. Moreover, three key points made by officers were to lock all dormitories, avoid the propping of doors, and to always walk in pairs at night. These words prove to be wise indeed after the tragic incident in volving an Elon student being vio lently assaulted by a man as he was walking home from a party one weekend earlier this fall. Gantos feels such incidents are caused by “students becoming lulled into a false sense of compla cency because violence seems to be a non-factor on campus.” A specific'concern was for females jogging at night in poorly- lit areas. College women are en couraged to jog in pairs during the daytime in well-populated areas. Such improvements did not go unnoticed by the Assistant Dean of Students, Scott Nelson. In fact. Nelson points to the hiring of Gantos as a one of the best moves that was made concerning the security and policing of Elon. “The hiring of Mr. Gantos helped increased the professional ism of the security staff as well as helped expand the role to which Campus Security was involved here at Elon.” Furthermore, Dean Nelson added that better lighting near North, Staley, and Moffitt Halls has increased the safety level for students as well. However, no system is perfect and Gantos and his staff are working closely with Elon officials to make the campus a safer environment in which to live. Nelson be lieves that a Student Escort Service might be allow females a greater sense of se curity by providing students who would volunteer each night of the week to serve as a companion for girls who wish to walk across cam pus late at night. “Each organiza tion could take a day in which they would provide a few people to serve as escorts,” Nelson said. Furthermore, with a constant eye towards the future. Campus Security and Police continue to look for more ways to improve the physi cal safety of all students. The de partment will be looking to increase it’s response time on all calls, as well as continually providing a su perior level of security where students can feel safe enough to let their guard down and enjoy “the college experience.” Any and all suggestions can be communicated to Campus Se curity at X 2407. Next Week's Focus Topic: Those Nutty World Orders ]Ne are going to look at the nuiny wondeijul differrent forms of govemmeni iu the world, from the zen of communism to thejoyoffasmm Elon cops a joke ''Dirty Hippie"^ Contributing Reporter Hello eveiyone. I hope this day finds you safe and happy. Some dear ftiends of mine at The Pendu lum have asked; me to como and give you my unbiased opinion of the campus security here at Elon, so here goes,..JT SUCKSJlHt Here's my rationale. Firstof all the cars they drive establish the fact there a joke. My friends and I lovingly refer to them as the “Pac-man police.” If it was jmy call, I don’t think I would have used bubble letters from the early BO’s, They don’t quite inspire the Iw and respect that’s necessary ; for an officer of the law. My God, if they were following you all you Ihere was one clear and obvious sign she was going to die. That’s when she calM the campus police. I pretty much knew she was a goner atthatpoint, TninotWadinginthe Velvet Sea here» people. This is why I think all stu dents should carry a joint around in their pocket*. If they *re ever getting attacked or raped they can pull the joint out and start puffing. That’ll definitely get the cops there, cause I^ord only knows they aren’t going to come if there is a real problem, It’s much easier to bust the stoners who don’t pose a threat anyway. Maybe if they spent their money on training instead of getting newpaint jobs on the cars this could be averted. Who knows? ^ For my closing thoughts, I I Jen MeCort/Tftc Pendulum Brand new Campus Police iruiser iu JC lot. have to do is eat a FowetTellet to scare them off. Maybe they were tiying to fee hip and cool with the kids when they did if. Don’t. You*re cops, kids aren^t going to like you anyway. Hjis brings me to my next point Have you ever seen the movie Scream 2? You know the scene wereSarahMichelIeGeUar(Buffy); is about to be attacked by the killer? would like lo encourage Si the woman out there to learn some form of martial arts, it’s for the best. I need to give a shout out to the Gibsonville Posse, and for ihe cops who were kind enough to sit through this tirade, I have one last closing comment: I was high as^ balls whenlwrotethis article. Good night and God bless. Is there a topic you would like to see covered in the Focus section? If so, let us know! Call The Pendulum at ext. 2331 or visit us in Moseley 233.
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 18, 1999, edition 1
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