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UAS addresses campus security problems
By Sean Smith
Whalesong Reporter
You all see
them, pulling up slowly next to your vehicle, seemingly breathing
down your neck, watching your every move, just waiting for an excuse
to stop you.
Over the past few weeks, there have been several instances
regarding on-campus security that have come under review by the
UAS administration. A meeting between the administration and the
officials of Knightwatch Security, Inc., which provides security
to both housing and the UAS campuses, took place Thursday, Sept.
26.
The question was, and still is, what is the purpose
of security and how does the faculty, and students alike want to
be treated by the officers? According to Tish Griffin-Satre, director
of student activities and housing, both issues were addressed at
the meeting. “The University clarified the responsibility of
security on campus, and their need to help us achieve the objectives
that administration expects,” she said.
According to the Dean of Students Paul Kraft, those
goals are to “make the students and faculty feel safe, and
to protect the buildings from any damage.” He went on to say,
“Knightwatch went beyond the expectation of the university,
which is to protect its students.” Kraft said that the meeting’s
purpose was “to reinforce UAS’s expectations of the on-campus
security.”
Knightwatch security was conducting after-hours identification
checks and excessively delayed the process of those checks by taking
the individuals I.D. and blocking their car in with a security vehicle.
Paul Kraft stated, “It’s not that the I.D. checks are
not in good intentions, but how they conduct their checks is in
question.” Kraft said Knightwatch was in total agreement with
the university, that the instances that took place were wrong and
are not the norm for their company.
The university is taking steps in order to prevent these
types of occurrences from happening in the future. Those steps include
the development of a policy and procedure manual mapping out exactly
what the purpose is of the security, and having quarterly meetings
with Knightwatch management to assess the progress of that security.
Griffin-Satre was confident in saying that, “Students and faculty
will see an immediate change in after- hours security.
Because of the incidents and the Sept. 26 meeting, students
will not be asked to show their I.D. to Knightwatch security, unless
conducting suspicious behavior, during any part of the night or
day.
Professor Dan Monteith said, “My under standing
is that as a citizen I am not required to give a security officer
my I.D.” He said he was told by the Alaska State Trooper’s
office, “If asked by a security officer to see your I.D., it
is your right as a citizen to refuse.”
The issue is safety, and the response of one student
affected by this misconduct of contract security on campus was,
“It made me feel unsafe to be treated in this manner.”
He said that without a question Knightwatch was out of line.
The administration is working to see that changes will
come about. Nevertheless, a word to the wise for all those staying
late on campus, watch for Knightwatch.
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