Newspapers / Mars Hill University Student … / Sept. 13, 1974, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Mars Hill 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
1974 it by a :unc- ident )f fi- id by from :ives ition of fhtly jtion iefi- ^ the Doard nuna- 3 the the liege a 36 trus- cises rough f the ed B. raylo^ MPBEI'I' bake^^ BIBBS F gabnbp GEORG®' GriMEB BART^^ SCAb^*^ FRIDAY^ SEPTEIjBER 13^ 1974 GONVERSAHON mi res l!JARS HILL COLLEGE. HILLTOP ^AGE three Thieves, non-do gooders, and pernicious people of any nature, be ware—Fat Faires has ^rived. Faires, more properly known as Michael D., is Mars Hill College's new director of safety eind security. He's not fat, the nickname came about because of Faires' affinity with comedian Bill Cosby's character Fat Albert. It should be noted that Faires is an ex- Airborne Ranger, Green Beret sergeant. A jovial six-footer, Faires majored in Special Education at West Georgia College, which is located in his hometown of Carrollton. It was at West Georgia that Faires became interested in police work, and he min- ored in Crimnology. Returning from the service in 1970, he worked for his alma mater in the public safety division. Beginning as a patrolman, he had been promoted to assistant chief of that department before he left this summer to come to Mars Hill. Faires is well acquainted with education and colleges, since his father is an Elementary Education professor. According to Dean Don Geh- ring, Faires was hired to begin a comprehensive program of police and general security, fire safety, property protection, accident prevention, campus first aid training, lighting survey programs, and civil defense and disaster programs. Right now, according to Faires, the most important aspect of the overall program is security. "There are more people reporting crimes now than have reported previously. Most of the crimes have been thefts, which isn't unusual. Money, phonograph records, we even had one incident of a student having his clothes stolen. Although they were returned, I don't think it would have been too difficult to track the thief as the I victim was 6'5"." I It is an unusual fact that much of the stolen material has been re turned, something that hasn't happened before. "Even money," notes ^ Faires, "A student had $60 stolen last Thursday, and Tuesday it was re turned, all of it, anonymously." Faires notes that if stolen items are •j returned in the same condition as when they were taken and the victim doesn't push for an arrest, the safety and security division won't push ' for an arrest either. "Many people just succim* to temptation, " Faires explains, "There is a mighty temptation present when a person sees $60 or even $100 in some cases just lying on a dresser with no one around. Later, they think better of it and return it. We feel that something like this is a leeirn- ing process, and if the goods or money are returned, then the person that took it has learned that stealing is not right." Some of the thefts have had a humorous nature about them, but not necessarily to the victim. Such as the student with a record collection j numbering nearly J.QQ., who h^d four stolen..^ "^ts obvipus th^t i-ha guy -just took the four that he liked extremely well," commented Faires. Or the student that left four $1.00 bills on his dressey, went out of the room 'and had $3.00 stolen. But these events point out one thing to Faires, "There are no pro fessional thieves at Mars Hill," If there were, for exaunple, a pro would have taken all of the student's nearly 100 records or all of the $4.00, "and anything else that he could resell elsewhere." On general campus security, co-ed's mothers can rest ^asy. There has been only one attempted break-in in a women's residence hall and Faires concluded that the person was after a stereo sitting in a ground floor window rather than trying to get in the room. However, Faires reports, the girls were a little anxious after the incident, so to provide pro tection and an alarm system, the safety and sectirity division bought each 91^1 n whistle. "It's one of the most effective deterrents I know," he commented. "A loud noise at night is bound to attract a lot of attention which is what a burglar doesn't want." Since he's been here, Faires has observed that "The Mars Hill stu dents really take care of each other. It's something you don't see at other schools." He also commented on the character of the student body, saying that Mars Hill students "are generally better than those at auiy other school I've been acquainted with." He pointed to things such as the low crime rate, general lack of drugs on campus, and the usually good -relationship that exsists between people on campus as evidence to back' up his statement. It should be pointed out that while Faires is a deputized member of the Madison County Sheriff's Depar-tment as , as a deputy of the Mars Hill city police, "I am a member and officer of Mars Hill College first and these other second." Faires has been pleased with the response he has received from the students, and flatly states "We serve the students." He encourages students to come to him or one of his staff with any problem, it's of my field, then I can find someone who can help." ^’aires' office location is currently a little ambiguous, but he will soon be located in what used to be the dres- toom behind the ampitheatre. "There's a lot of props and scenery in there now, " he noted, "but it is well sit- sp '^ith a parking lot nearby and easy access to all parts of the campus. It's surprisingly well equipped as for f water supply, toilets, and things like that." Al-though it doesn't have a formal name yet, Faires and his staff to it as "the Bunker," because "that's what it looks like." Q . ^f a student should have to get in touch with Faires or any of the security staff, particulary at night, he can Ve ^ infirmary, "there is a nurse on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there is a radio located there so always have communication with the nurse on duty." g^j^ Zaires complemented his staff, saying that they are some of the finest men he has ever worked with. "I know that the students have tended to look down on some of them, but they have integrity and character and they truly (jg ® ^out the students here. One of the staff members has a son in college and he told me that he treats the stu- s here the same way he wants his son treated." Cqjj faires noted some things students could do to prevent losing their belongings through theft. "Becoming security is the most important thing. Use a magic marker to put names on phonograph dust covers and again on the Stereos have serial numbers, so make sure that a record is kept of all items that have serial nvimbers. We item electric marking device that students can use to put their name or social security number on metal or plastic do ’ Don't carry large sums of money, keep just enough cash around to meet your needs until the bank opens. If you a carry a large amount of money, copy the serial munbers off the bills. Within a short time, we will have ^ inventory program available, where we can inventory a student's room, at his request, and then if it's ever Well qVqIXqJjXC f WilcXw ws we can tell exactly what's missing."
Mars Hill University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 13, 1974, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75