October 4, 2002

The recent vandalism and thievery suffered by four Wesleyan students has created talk of concern and fear among other students. One has to ask: What does it take for someone to walk onto this campus and break into four vehicles, slash tires and flee with stereo equipment? If not Wesleyan students themselves, how did the culprits get on campus and why weren't they stopped? We are not ignorant or naive about the fact that crimes will happen and will often go unpunished it's a fact of life. However, we are naive if we think that we are safe here in our own little 300-acre world.

We have comforted ourselves with delusions of innocence and a "not in my backyard" mentality. This was the same mentality shared by students and faculty at Columbine High School before the unthinkable and by the FBI pre-September 11. It is not likely that terrorists will choose a small liberal arts college on the eastern seaboard for their next target; however, there are plenty of other dangers. Our small, cohesive community is not immune to evil. In spite of what we want to believe, our campus is placed right in the middle of a large and increasingly dangerous world.

Students are told every year not to prop doors to residence halls - for their safety. What about when the outer doors don’t close properly? At least two doors on this campus have been broken for weeks, remaining unlocked for anyone choosing to enter. Key cards are also designed to keep intruders out of the dorms, and the cards have seemed to work extremely well, especially when it comes to keeping students out of their own dorm rooms. Flimsy, unreliable key cards that stop working every two weeks also create a security hazard for students needing to seek shelter from immediate danger.

What happens in that moment of danger when a student is locked outside of refuge with no way to call for help? The infamous "blue phones" have continued to vanish almost into extinction, with none sighted in Village III, only one such rare species in Village I and a beige imposter in Village II. Once upon a time there were pay phones inside South Hall and in front of Hofheimer Library. Where have they gone?

The life of a college student goes on all hours of the day and night, and this calls for security 24/7 . Is a Village II resident walking from the Trinder Center parking lot at 3 a.m. really safe? Even if he or she wanted a security escort, there isn't a phone available to call for one. We have plenty of reasons to believe that we are safe living among the familiar faces of residence life staff and hallmates, but it's what lies outside the Wesleyan property lines that should create concern.

Wesleyan prides itself on its beautiful, open campus, as it should. However, we have been lucky to escape any major crimes and even luckier that the few individuals choosing to bend the rules have been stupid enough to pass legally through the gatehouse - the only security checkpoint on campus. However, relying on one security checkpoint with an unarmed officer is like building a house without walls and just expecting any unwelcome guests to knock at the door. If someone is determined to threaten our home, what good is a guard dog without teeth?

One might ask, do we have anything to fear? The history on campus may imply no, but the sounds of sirens ringing daily, the urban environment that borders the college and the 7-Eleven down the street all imply that there is something to be afraid of. The bottom line is there are threats all around. We do not want to live in a prison, but we do want to feel secure. We do not want individual bodyguards, but we may need security guards armed with something more than fancy Marlin Wheels. Haven't we learned that if we want to protect ourselves, we need to be prepared? Or will we just follow the recent events of our nation and wait until it’s too late?

Letter to the Editor

Illustration by COLIN HIGGINS

Donna opened it and saw my daughter's name and picture and remembered her from when she took classes here last year! I rushed over to retrieve it and thanked Donna profusely. Unfortunately, Donna did not get the name of the person who turned it in. Whoever that person is I wish to thank them as well. Had that person not done the right thing our weekend would have been a nightmare. In all probability, we would not have realized the passport was missing until we got to D.C. My daughter would have probably missed her flight, we would have had to drive back to frantically search for the passport, and my wife and I would have missed our friends' son's wedding in Md. that Saturday.

Moreover, had we not found it Alicia may have had her trip postponed for weeks causing her to be late for her teaching assignment and jeopardizing her starting classes at the University of Grenoble. That one small gesture of caring enough to turn the passport in to Security made all the difference to my family and I. How easy it would have been to just walk by and leave it on the ground. By taking the time and expending the energy to do this good deed some member of the VWC community made Friday the 13th my lucky day.

Thank you so much, whoever you are. You have reaffirmed my belief that VWC really is a special place filled with caring people.

- Dave Garraty
Professor of MBE

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