Council Urges College to Approve Security System

Author: Claire Bourne

Community Council endorsed a six-point recommendation Monday issued by the Community Council subcommittee on public safety, giving the go-ahead for the implementation of an automated security system on the Middlebury College campus. The document was presented to Acting President Ronald Liebowitz yesterday and could be signed as early as this Friday.

The subcommittee, chaired by Dean of Enrollment Planning Mike Schoenfeld, recommended that the College "engage" the Massachusetts-based Strategic Technology Group to design a campus access system, beginning with the residence halls in phase one of the project.

Dr. Adam Thermos, director of the security consulting company, outlined options for such a system before a joint session of Community Council and the Student Government Association (SGA) on Monday, March 11.

"We are convinced [Thermos] is the person best qualified to work as the architect of this system," said Schoenfeld. "We like the collaborative and inclusive process he uses to establish protocol."

Also included in the subcommittee's proposal was the creation of a Campus Access Committee to work closely with Thermos as he "designs the system and establishes protocols for its use." The group would include representatives from Community Council, SGA, Facilities Management, Facilities Planning, Public Safety, the Dean of Student Affairs Office, Information Technology Services, Commons Administration, the faculty and staff councils. Assistant Treasurer and Director of Business Services Tom Corbin would chair the committee, Schoenfeld said. If Liebowitz approves the document before the end of the week, the newly formed committee could begin weekly meetings directly following Spring Break.

The subcommittee recommended "a system that provides easy access through the use of a single card to all residence halls at all hours and selected other spaces currently only available by special keys" such as the darkroom and practice rooms in the Center for the Arts. This card, while maintaining swiping and money-loading chip capabilities, would work with proximity sensors at building entrances, enabling students to enter dormitories, and eventually academic, administrative and athletic facilities, without removing it from their pockets or backpacks.

The fourth and most contentious point of the proposal originally called for the Campus Access Committee to discuss installing video surveillance technology to monitor public spaces. Schoenfeld said that "it might make sense" to install security cameras in parking lots and large public buildings where theft has been a problem in the past. Community Council member Ben LaBolt '03 expressed support for the "easy, universal access" that a proximity card system would provide but said that he was "wary of video surveillance anywhere on campus."

Stipulation four's final language asserted, "It is the sense of Community Council that video surveillance is not desirable in the residence halls." No mention is made of other campus spaces.

The fifth point specified that the Campus Access Committee and the Student Senate must have input on the design of the system and the protocols governing its use.

Finally, the document addressed an interim solution to the current dormitory-locking procedure, indicating that the Campus Access Committee and the Strategic Technology Group explore "ways to improve campus security and 24-hour access to the residence halls for the fall until the conversion to a new access system is complete."

Schoenfeld said Thermos would be ready to send system protocols from other colleges, such as Bowdoin and Colby, as soon as Liebowitz gives the go-ahead. Thermos will also have to conduct a survey of all buildings to be included in the new automated system, as all entrance doors are different and will require specific installation procedures.