October 08, 2008
The additional security cameras are in place and functioning.
New ID-card readers are too. Both have been installed in St. Albert
Hall to provide enhanced security for faculty and students who wish
to work in the science building’s laboratories during the evening
and early morning hours.
While St. Albert Hall’s laboratories have always been accessible
24-hours a day, some students in the College of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Professions and St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences have indicated they had safety concerns about working in
the labs during the “off hours.”
According to Executive Director of Public Safety Denise Vencak,
students’ request for a safer environment in the science building
after normal working hours required an upgrade to already existing
security systems. She and Vice President of Public Safety Thomas
Lawrence determined they should introduce the University’s
swipe-card technology to St. Albert, ensuring that only those
authorized to enter the building after hours will be able to do so
and can do so safely.
Now, three exterior doors have been designated as after-hour
entrances to St. Albert and 18 additional internal and external
security cameras are in place. In addition, 60 ID-card readers have
been installed to permit or deny entrance to those three entrances
and to student and faculty research labs.
Biological Sciences Department Chair Jay Zimmerman says that
many of his graduate students work late at night in their
laboratories.
“They’re reassured that the building is now secured after normal
working hours. Some, who have before this been reluctant to
work late, are now willing to do so. As an administrator, I
am reassured that the many hazardous materials stored in
laboratories are now secured from theft and malicious
mischief.”
Executive Director Vencak points out that “this [card swiping
and security cameras] is the wave of the future. A lot of colleges
and universities are doing it. At St. John’s, the safety of our
students is our highest priority and this technology helps us to
protect them.”