< for Creativity, Carleton’s newest campus building, has inspired a great deal of activity this fall. Students and faculty head to and from the building at all hours of the day.
But as the days are getting shorter and the nights longer, concerns for safety arise regarding the walk between central campus and the Weitz Center. There are currently eight Blue Light Emergency Telephones located throughout campus, none of which are on the path to the Weitz Center.
“Last year we worked with the CSA President to create a priority list for future Emergency Phone locations,” said Wayne Eisenhuth, director of Campus Security.
“Two additional telephones were approved by the budget committee and they are slated to be installed on the mini bald spot and on the walkway between Goodsell and Goodhue Hall. The Weitz Center was not on the list.”
Eisenhuth reports that if funds become available for a third new Emergency Phone, they will consider the course between main campus and the Weitz Center to be a viable installment location.
If funding can’t happen this year, Security plans to make a request through next year’s budget process, leaving the path to Weitz completely devoid of emergency Blue Light stations for now.
However, other precautions have been taken in securing the Weitz Center. The building, and certain rooms within it, locks to anyone without a OneCard after 9 p.m.
Still, students do not necessarily take comfort with the current setup.
“It is really dark when I’m heading out of Weitz at night and it’s a little scary,” Ella Fox ’15 said. “I feel like it would be hard to call for help if something happened.”
With the plethora of student projects that take place at the Weitz Center in the evening, many students face the problem of walking back to campus after dark.
Still, some feel the addition of a Blue Light Emergency Telephone would be fruitless in heightening security.
“I honestly don’t know where any of the Blue Lights are. Why would this one make any difference?” Micaela LaRose ’15 said.
In the absence of an Emergency Phone, Eisenhuth reminds students that it is always a good idea to walk with a group of people, or at least with one other person. If a student does find himself alone, Campus Security offers a walking safety escort service that is available 24/7, reached at 507-222-4444.
Eisenhuth emphasized that campus safety depends on all of us.
“I can’t stress enough that personal security is a shared responsibility, and we rely on students, faculty and staff to be additional eyes and ears for [Security],” he said.