In response to a flood of e-mails, Student Government President Cassie Alsfeld coordinated a joint meeting with SG and administrators Monday to address campus safety concerns. The meeting focused on inner-campus security with residential areas warranting special attention. Representatives from the LSU Police Department, Office of Residential Life, Office of Public Affairs, Office of Greek Affairs and SG discussed solutions to address students’ concerns. Gary Durham, executive director of Public Safety, said while many cameras installed on the academic buildings are outdated, the University’s security is excellent compared to campuses of comparable size. But he said many of the security cameras located primarily in the campus’ center were installed more than 10 years ago and are no longer functional. “A number of them are no longer operational, and those will be replaced within the next few months,” he said. “But the cameras are not monitored 24 hours a day by a person. The records are kept for a week, and they are primarily a tool to go back and look at.” Durham announced installation plans for 10 operational cameras to replace the outdated ones funded by federal grant money. Additionally he said five cameras have been installed in the aftermath of the shootings at Edward Gay Apartments and seven have been installed at Nicholson Apartments with the possibility of three more. “As we progress, we hope to get more with federal funds,” he said. Durham updated representatives about the on-going investigation concerning the Edward Gay double-homicide. He said the task force continues to meet daily and check incident reports in East Baton Rouge Parish to identify possible patterns between other cases and the case at Edward Gay Apartments. As acting-interim chief of LSUPD, Durham said the department is also working to increase the Crime Stoppers reward in an effort to generate more interest in the community. With respect to campus lighting, Durham said the annual lighting survey conducted in November identified 119 of 3,500 exterior lights needing replacement. Since the survey’s completion more than two months ago, Durham said “most have been replaced or repaired.” “Whenever you cover a campus of this size, you are bound to come across lights that are out,” he said. “It’s an ongoing process to keep them all lit.” Eric Monday, associate vice chancellor of finance, said the lighting on campus is not a problem. “The lighting on this campus is unbelievable,” he said. “But I’m not saying there aren’t areas we can improve.” But even if a student’s walking path to their residential quarters is completely lit, Residential Life representatives voiced a different concern at the meeting. Mary Wallace, associate director of Residential Life, said while the department has employed undercover police officers, “tailgating” at the dorms has become an issue meriting attention. She said residents are disregarding the card access system and letting strangers into the building. She explained 20 minutes after closing a propped door, she has found pennies in the door. “If I collected the change I could buy a new car,” she said. “We are catching people for propping the door. If they do it again, it is failure to comply, and they go to judicial affairs.” Wallace said in an effort to stop students from finding loopholes to the card access system, Residential Life plans to locally alarm the service side door at Miller Hall typically used to sneak in guests. “It will be an obnoxious alarm when someone tries to open it,” she said. D’Ann Morris, assistant to the chancellor, questioned SG’s communication avenue with students as the No. 1 representation for the student body. “This isn’t a criticism of SG,” she said. “We are happy to meet anytime, but when we meet and that information is not put out – there needs to be more verbal communication. I would hope that when a senator represents a college, he goes back to that college and communicates that information.” Alsfeld said she hopes to promote SG’s communication campaign. She also discussed plans to turn the University’s Public Safety Day into a week-long event. K.C. White, dean of students, attended the meeting and said people are getting spoiled with convenience when it comes to being safe. “They need to take that extra step,” she said. Durham said if someone feels uncomfortable to call the police. “Our response time is about one minute to two minutes on campus,” he said. “We have made a number of arrests. We arrested someone yesterday near campus who is wanted in California.”
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]