The Globe’s Point – The setbacks of safety and security

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Written By Editorial Board

It’s no secret that The Globe has been following and even kickstarting some of the developmental changes being taken to secure our campus from outsiders for quite some time. Having a campus in Downtown Pittsburgh can be convenient, but offers safety challenges other campuses may not face.

The start of this semester proved the administration was taking seriously the concerns of outsiders entering campus buildings and threatening students.

Students across campus desired stricter safety measures following several events where they felt their safety was being threatened. Campus police listened to the concerns of students and took measures to address the issue by securing campus for identification holders by only allowing passage through security guards and ID scanners.

They also declared the Boulevard of the Allies Academic Hall entrance out of commission in order to keep a closer eye on those passing through, in addition to cutting back on library security.

Now, administration is facing another obstacle as disgruntled students – who once enjoyed the convenience of forgotten ID cards and those who took shortcuts through multiple entrances – are having to make some changes for the greater good.

We applaud campus police for taking our concerns seriously. Really, we do.

Forgetful students need to understand the administration made these changes for the betterment of our campus. Convenience should never trump safety. Sure, there are sign-in sheets and long lines as a result of fumbling professors sifting through their bags of ungraded homework for their ID. It’s all just a symptom of being and feeling safer. This is a trade-off most of us are willing to accept.

We acknowledge it takes a little more time to get to West Penn from Academic when you can’t just take the side door leading right to the crosswalk. We know that sometimes our IDs disappear in the nooks and crannies of our dorm rooms. But what’s a little more fresh air? And if you forget your ID, you can easily sign in as a guest at the front door. It takes a minute. We at The Globe believe that minute is worth a whole lot.