Students at the Life Sciences building have had enough of worrying about their safety and now are doing something about it.
A petition compiled by biological sciences research associate Mary East, with input from undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, professors and janitors, is an effort to show how many students all over campus demand safer conditions on campus.
“I spent a week talking to everyone and made changes with their suggestions,” East said. “We’re getting a lot of support from people we didn’t think we’d get it from.”
East said the need for more security always has been an issue because the building stays open nights and weekends for professors and students to do research and classwork.
“We have classes here until 9:30 p.m., and a lot of people have to do research when no one else is on campus, like weekends and holidays,” East said. “We have to provide a safe place for students to learn and people to work.”
She said the building has many different entries, and anyone can come in and out undetected. East said the University can focus more on making the campus safer other than painting crosswalks and cutting azalea bushes.
“We’ve had thefts in the building, one professor’s office was set on fire and twice now janitors have stopped someone who looks like the composite,” East said. “Why don’t we make a single entry at night or have swipe cards?”
The petition asks the University administration “to take necessary measure to ensure the security of the Life Science Building and Annex, especially at night and on weekends.”
It asks that the University meet four demands: “(1) a single entrance for access after hours and the installation of security cameras and a card reading system to control access; (2) an alarm that sounds and alerts campus security when doors are propped open after hours; (3) restricted access to the second and upper floors after hours; (4) a security guard that would patrol the Life Sciences, Annex, Choppin and Williams; or any other measures deemed necessary by LSU Security.”
East said she hopes to get as many signatures as possible.
“When students stir stuff up, the administration has to listen,” East said. “If they don’t, students are just going to keep stirring stuff up.”
Although safety has been an issue for a while, East said the death of biological sciences graduate student Carrie Lynn Yoder was the last straw for many to push for more immediate action.
“You don’t have to ask to be taught when you come to school, so we shouldn’t have to ask to feel safe,” East said.
Ellen Leichty, a biology graduate student, said she often feels unsafe when she does research during the weekends.
“There’s an elevator in the back that is really open to anyone,” Leichty said. “I just feel uneasy, like I need to be aware of the surrounding all the time.”
Dominique Homberger, a biological sciences professor, said the petition is completely non-controversial, and the issue is something long overdue because of federal regulations.
Homberger said the effort is a win-win situation because so many people support it and want something done. She said the biological sciences department is in deep mourning over Yoder’s death, and the loss has made better security even more critical.
“There are many things that have made us sensitive, and her death made us more sensitive,” Homberger said. “I wouldn’t use Carrie’s death as a reason for having the petition. It just makes good sense to ask for this.”
She said she is confident that the University will immediately take action, and she would not be surprised if plans were already being discussed.
Thomas Moore, associate chair of biological sciences, said Yoder’s death made everyone more concerned about personal and professional safety, and ideas of making the building safer have been in the back of people’s minds for a while now.
“I think signatures will give more support to what we’re trying to do,” Moore said. “The department is looking into costs of doing things like hiring first floor security after hours or getting cameras.”
He said the department has attempted to use ID card badges for people to come in and out, but it did not work because no one was watching to see if people wore the badges.
“It was set up so that if anyone didn’t have the card, the police would be called to respond, but largely no one seemed to be checking, and if you did wear it no one noticed, so people just started leaving them at home,” Moore said.
Students can go to the Life Sciences building, Rooms 101, 102, 107 and 202 to sign the petition.