When we received the email Friday from Point Park Police Chief Jeff Besong that Lawrence Hall would be locked 24/7, we couldn’t help but be pleased that Public Safety had listened to the voices of concerned students.

We made it clear in our editorial two weeks back that the campus could be more secure and we feel the new procedures for Lawrence Hall reflect those concerns. We are thankful that Public Safety had an attentive ear to our concerns. This is a victory for students and a step in the right direction.

We also want to applaud Chief Besong’s willingness to speak with students about campus safety issues at Monday’s USG meeting (see coverage on page 1).

Two weeks ago, we published an admittedly fiery editorial questioning the safety of our campus in light of the arrest of a sex offender who was found watching a dance class on campus. In part, we questioned how seriously campus safety was being taken by Public Safety.

Some questions still remain. The desk attendant coverage is still haphazard without much explanation – and the Point Park website still claims that access to all buildings is controlled by desk attendants 24/7. At the end of the day, we feel locking a downtown campus just makes sense, so we applaud this move as a great step forward.

We acknowledge that we’re an urban campus, and there are inherent challenges balancing the needs of accessible campus buildings and creating a safe environment for education. When we came to Point Park, it was clear that Downtown Pittsburgh would be our campus, with all the challenges that come with it.

At the Globe, we believe that ensuring our safety is a work in progress and should be viewed as such – students should understand that these policies are being adjusted, and Public Safety should continually evaluate the effectiveness of their policies.

Overall, we see locking the entirety of campus as a step in the right direction. While we acknowledge no campus can be completely secure (we suggest perhaps raising money for underground tunnels or more sky-bridges) we have faith in our Public Safety department to make informed judgment calls regarding campus safety.