Public safety working to keep students safe

PAUL NASELLA PJN722@CABRINI EDU STAFF WRITER

Dead-bolt locks, electronically controlled identification card systems and frequent patrols by Public Safety. These are just a few of the measures that have been taken to keep the resident students safe here at Cabrini College. But are they as safe as some make it out to be?

Charlie Schaffner, the director of Public Safety, said, “I think the security on the campus is good to excellent.”

However, two freshmen who wished to remain anonymous said, “Anybody can get in if you walk by and act like you live here, the guard will not stop you.”

Nonetheless, one of the biggest problems concerning dorm security is the problem of propping doors. “The biggest problem that we have is young people who, for whatever reason, leave a door unlocked, open or propped just invite somebody to come into the building that’s not authorized,” Schaffner said.

In response to the easy access that propped doors provides, Schaffner said, “There’s not an awful lot we can do about that, short of sitting there at the door watching the doors when the kids go in.”

According to some students, that is exactly what they’ve been doing. “When the guards are on duty, they sit at the desk and watch TV. Typically, you’ll see like 20 kids go by without them looking up or asking one person to see an i.d. At night, either the RAor the guard is sitting there. Typically you just walk by and say ‘hi’or smile, and just go on your way,” the same two freshmen said.

Public Safety frequently patrols the residence halls throughout the night as well as stationing an officer at the front desk of the major residence halls between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. They can also be seen patrolling the

Finally, the crowd began moving again at a rapid rate and we were about to reach St. Peter’s Square, only again to be stopped by traffic directors. The people in front and behind us were not happy about this at all. My roommate and I even noticed one older woman in front of us purposely blowing smoke into one of the traffic director’s face because he would not let her pass.

After about six hours of waiting, we finally made it into St. Peter’s square were moving much quicker now. As I was standing in line to view one of the most important people in the world I could not fathom the way people were acting.

Until that point people had been pushing and shoving to make it into the square. They had been yelling, singing and talking loudly on cell phones, but the moment that people set foot into St. Peter’s Square, it all changed. People moved campus and the dorms during the day as well.

“Public Safety is going through the buildings on a regular basis every night,” Schaffner said. “We do what is called a ‘pipe-route,’we go through and check different spots with a wand that tells us you’ve been there. We do that once in the residence hall from 4 p.m. to 12 p.m. and twice during the midnight shift.” quickly to get in the Basilica, but no longer pushed.

Voices were toned down to a whisper. People looked out into the square and would point to all the vigils set up for the Pope. After all those hours of waiting, bundling up against the cold night and striking up conversations with the Italian family next to us, we were able to walk into St. Peter’s Basilica.

In the Basilica, there was almost utter silence from the people, except for those few that you could hear murmuring responses to prayers said by one of the cardinals. Walking down the nave of the Basilica towards the high altar, I got chills knowing that I was soon about to see the Pope.

In front of the high altar was a table covered in gold cloth on which the Pope was laid out. To me, being placed on that huge table made the Pope seem so small. When I first saw the Pope, I was surprised by the sheer fact that he was laid out in the open.

Only guards stood between me and the Pope, no casket, no covering. As important as the Pope is, I could not get over how open-

The Residence Life office educates residents and brings awareness about what they should do to keep their place of living a safe one. Laura Shapella, assistant director of resident life, said, “I think education is an important thing. We’re educating residents about what they need to do to keep things safe; about locking their doors, carrying their keys with them, not letting people ly his body was exposed to the public. in to the building and helping students to take that responsibility for keeping the halls safe.”

Pope John Paul II appeared to finally look at peace and at rest after many years of suffering. I noticed that in front of us enormous crowds of people were taking pictures of the Pope’s body, which I felt was disrespectful and morally inappropriate.

Although we waited six hours to view the Pope, we were only able to get a few seconds to glimpse him before we were ushered out of the way. However, it was well worth the wait.

The funeral has been set for Friday, April 8, at 10:30 am. Many world leaders, even our own President Bush, are expected to be present for the funeral. For the most part, the city of Rome will be shut down including local shops and schools such as the American University of Rome. On the day of the funeral, the city is going to be extremely chaotic with millions of mourners all there at once to pray for Pope John Paul II.

All of these measures are taken not only keep residents safe, but to prevent any heinous crimes from occurring such as the 1986 rape and murder of Jeanne Cleary at Lehigh University.

SECURITY, page 4