Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Sept. 10, 2014, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
News Wednesday, September 10, 2014 • page 2 Campus Safety and Police focus on preventative technology KAITLIN DUNN 1 Assistanl NewsEcilt Campus Safety and Police, located in Oaks Commons, are working hard to keep students safe. One new precaution they are taking this year is wearing body cameras to record what happens around them, Kaitlin Dunn Assistant News Editor After a relatively restful summer, Campus Safety and Police are getting back into the swing of things with new equipment, enforcing old policies and keeping students safe. The biggest changes in regards to law enforcement on campus are the body cameras that Campus Police and Security othcers wear now. They record everything that happens around the officers. There is a limited number of cameras, so they are given out on a tirst come, first serve basis to officers. According to Captain Vickie Moehlman of Campus Safety and Police, the cameras are very visible and students should have no trouble being able to tell if an officer is wearing one. “Tliis is something that all of our of ficers arc verv excited about," Moehlman said. “It s something that's for the safetv of our officers and all the students and citizens around.” Tlie cameras are meant to keep impar tial evewitness accounts, so officials later on can see what happened at the scene of a crime or accident. junior Amv Counihan is skeptical about the practicalitv of the cameras. “Whenever IVe had to call campus police because of an incident, it's because they weren't there, and as soon as thev go there, everyone stopped what thev were doing,” Counihan said. “On the off ch ance thev happen to be there when something happens, thev’ll be useful, hut I feel like that just doesn't happen verv often.” Senior Shannon Temlak is also hesi tant about the cameras because of lack of information. “It sounds like an interesting idea, but I feel like there should have been some sort of email letting students know that now they are wearing cameras. There definitely should have been better com munication about it,” Temlak said. “1 feel like there isn’t much point to wearing the cameras. We already have so many camer as around campus, and it would have been better to put cameras up in areas that don’t have any.” Nothing major has happened yet, ac cording to Moehlman, but she is sure the cameras will come in handy soon. Traffic accidents often happen in front of officers and the cameras could assist officers in describing the scene. The most significant event to happen so far this school year that Campus Safety and Police dealt with was when lightning struck Oaks E Sept. 3. The lightning entered through a drver vent to Room 302 of the building, setting off the sprinkler system. According to r^Ioehlman, the strike affected the power in the building and did not trigger the fire alarm system. Campus Police responded immedi ately to the strike and made sure that ev eryone evacuated the bulding safelv and worked throughout the night monitoring the situation. Junior Meagan Schrock, a resident of Oaks E, was reassured by the Campus Safety and PoUce presence that night. “W'e were kept well-informed and I felt completely coniident in Campus Po lice's ability to keep us safe,” Schrock said. “This situation could have gotten really crazy, but I thought they handled things in a very calm and organized way.” No injuries were reported and all resi dents were relocated that night as a safety precaution. Moehlman was not aware of any damage to student belongings from the sprinkler system. Other than dealing with the aftermath of the lightning, M^oehlman said that they’ve mostly been dealing with routine business. One of their biggest initiatives, which started last year, is a push to get students’ bikes registered with Campus Safety and Police and to crack down on bike theft. “The unique thing about registering is that you’ve given law enforcement a big step ahead if something bad happens,” she said. “Everyone’s bike has a serial number on it, and if it does get stolen, it makes it that much easier for us to find it.” Counihan has had her bike on campus for the past two years, but was not aware that she had to get it registered until re cently. “They definitely did not publicize that information enough,” she said. “Everyone knows you have to get your car registered or you’ll get a parking ticket, but nobody ever told me I had to register my bike too. I don't want-to get trouble for not having it registered.” Moehlman said that when it comes to bicycle theft, it is easy to take a bike when it’s not locked up and never put it back. “It someone’s walking home at night and finds a bike, they just decide to take it and ride it home and then the owmer doesn't know -what happened to it.” she said. “We find this is usually the case, so- usually what happens if the bike is regis tered is that we find it and we can contac you.” Campus Safety and Police also has supply of heavy-duty bike locks to git away to students at no cost. They ordei: 180 locks last year and have given airai around 160. Bikes parked outside of designated ar eas — such as railings, stairways and gi zebos — are subject to confiscation, a bikes left on campus past Commence ment are subject to the same. According to Moehlman, bike theft have gone down since they started tli: bike lock program. So far this school yea: there has only been one bicycle theft orj campus, and the bike was not locked aj the time. “It’s a good program and it’s definiteltr shown a reduction in larcenies,” she saif “It affects the criijie rate because peopk • know that campus police are paying at-, tention to bikes.” Students looking to register their bikes can visit www.elon.edu/safety and fill out an online form. The traffic office is located in Oaks Commons at 416 N. Williamson Avenue. Monday - Friday 7;30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 336-278-5555 STUDY.ABRO.VD bx-»n-j v-wer two popular spring semesters in Los .An geles. Six Elon students are currently en rolled in the program, taking classes at Marvmount Alanhattan College, intern ing in the citv and living at the 92nd St. V, a world-class cultural center that has plaved host to some of the most beloved artists, writers, thinkers and leaders. Stu dent also has an Elon alumnus mentor who helps them nenvork and learn the layout of the citv. Through the partnership wth Marv mount, Elon students can choose from a variety of classes and transfer the credits back to their Elon degree, which, accord ing to Book, is one of the most difficult aspects of studying at other universities. Part ot the challenge for Studv USA in particular is attracting students from different majors across campus. To com bat this issue, the staff moved their of fices into the GEC, and the university hired Mark Dalhouse as the director for Study USA. Dalhouse envisions a much bigger program in New York Citv, with the ability for students to intern in inter national diplomacy, global health and NGO development. Much of this semester, though, will be dedicated to advertising and market ing the semester in New York City across campus, he said, including thorough in formation sessions. The advertising for this fall semester started too late last year, resulting in low application and participation numbers. New York is such an international city,” Dalhouse said. “Elon talks about global citizenship, and it is the place where you have the opportunity to prac tice it, see it and live it.” Book is confident that Dalhoi^ can further grow and improve Sw USA and its opportunities for studen “There is something very powerful abo offering these types of programs, s said. “They can offer the same cultui learning as study abroad.” They can also serve as a first step f study abroad, especially for students wl have not traveled. “A student can spend a summer New York City and say T survived York City, now I’ll go to Italy, said.
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 10, 2014, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75