2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Security
Leah Perdue
Leah Perdue
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
CAMPUS SECURITY
By Leah Perdue
924161398@gsc.edu
For the first time in 43 years, GSC students will witness armed security at their school.
According to Paul Glaser, vice president for business and finance, GSC is working toward a more efficient security program. One of the main features of the new program includes hiring armed campus police, separate from the campus security, who currently patrol the campus.
Glaser explained that the campus police would carry firearms and have "arrest powers." The campus police are not meant to replace the security currently employed at GSC, but will be an addition to the security staff to broadening GSC's security functions and capabilities.
Critics are concerned about having security personnel with guns on campus. Some students have expressed concerns about the decision or the qualifications of GSC's security personnel.
"We should exhaust all other options before resorting to this (arming officers)," said Nicholas Humphrey, a student at GSC. Some students, like Humphrey, are concerned that GSC is acting rashly by giving guns to security personnel.
There are segments of the GSC student body that would rather see other alternatives put into place to make security more efficient.
"Perhaps they could carry less lethal weapons such as tasers or mace," suggested Skyler Davis, a political science major at GSC.
"We don't want to overreact, " Paul Glaser emphasized, "The officers will be certified according to P.O.S.T. standards."
The Peace Officer Standards Training Council, known as P.O.S.T., requires that all officers submit to a state and federal background check, be found free of "mental conditions" that would affect his or her ability to function as a peace officer, and spend at least twenty hours per year training with police organizations.
Despite the controversy of guns on campus, many students feel the tragedy at Virginia Tech makes it necessary to make some changes.
"After the Virginia Tech shooting, I realized that if that were to happen at GSC, we would not be prepared or protected," said Brandi Godfrey, a GSC student majoring in education.
After hearing about the proposed security upgrades, Elizabeth A. Rodriguez, a GSC student, summed up the issue neatly.
"I think I would feel a little bit safer and more protected."
By Leah Perdue
924161398@gsc.edu
For the first time in 43 years, GSC students will witness armed security at their school.
According to Paul Glaser, vice president for business and finance, GSC is working toward a more efficient security program. One of the main features of the new program includes hiring armed campus police, separate from the campus security, who currently patrol the campus.
Glaser explained that the campus police would carry firearms and have "arrest powers." The campus police are not meant to replace the security currently employed at GSC, but will be an addition to the security staff to broadening GSC's security functions and capabilities.
Critics are concerned about having security personnel with guns on campus. Some students have expressed concerns about the decision or the qualifications of GSC's security personnel.
"We should exhaust all other options before resorting to this (arming officers)," said Nicholas Humphrey, a student at GSC. Some students, like Humphrey, are concerned that GSC is acting rashly by giving guns to security personnel.
There are segments of the GSC student body that would rather see other alternatives put into place to make security more efficient.
"Perhaps they could carry less lethal weapons such as tasers or mace," suggested Skyler Davis, a political science major at GSC.
"We don't want to overreact, " Paul Glaser emphasized, "The officers will be certified according to P.O.S.T. standards."
The Peace Officer Standards Training Council, known as P.O.S.T., requires that all officers submit to a state and federal background check, be found free of "mental conditions" that would affect his or her ability to function as a peace officer, and spend at least twenty hours per year training with police organizations.
Despite the controversy of guns on campus, many students feel the tragedy at Virginia Tech makes it necessary to make some changes.
"After the Virginia Tech shooting, I realized that if that were to happen at GSC, we would not be prepared or protected," said Brandi Godfrey, a GSC student majoring in education.
After hearing about the proposed security upgrades, Elizabeth A. Rodriguez, a GSC student, summed up the issue neatly.
"I think I would feel a little bit safer and more protected."
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