When anger motivates, it drives you blindly. This is the case in the allegations that Public Safety is responsible for items lost over fall break. Victims of the thefts aren’t being sensible; they’re looking for anyone to blame and they have aimed their accusations at the only people able to help them recover their items, Public Safety.
The “Health and Safety Inspections” authorized by Campus Life occurred over fall break. Campus Life staff entered rooms to make sure that fire alarms weren’t covered, that windows weren’t broken, and that everything appeared to be normal. If drug paraphernalia was present, an in-depth search of the room proceeded.
Although not always participating in the searches, Public Safety sometimes accompanied Campus Life only to help lock and unlock doors. If an individual room in a suite or apartment was left unlocked, staff left it unlocked after the search. If it was locked before the search, it was relocked. In residence halls, all doors were locked after searches were completed.
Some students complained that their doors weren’t relocked. In one suite, a roommate staying over break reported that he found his suite-mate’s room not only unlocked, but wide open after the search.
Of course, Campus Life isn’t going to purposefully do this to a student, but mistakes do happen. If you want to blame somebody, know who’s at fault before you do. Campus Life performs these searches, not Public Safety.
During the searches, any items causing a fire hazard were taken into custody: candles, incense, toaster ovens, open-coiled hot plates, and anything with any type of open flame or heat source. A few of the complaints of items stolen have been this type of material, items that are prohibited and would be confiscated at any point in the school year.
With an open campus, outsiders have a week to check buildings, find unlocked windows, or even take note of the few people on campus and whether or not they lock their doors.
Guilford College has an honor code, but the city of Greensboro does not, and an empty campus is a jackpot for the city’s petty criminals.
“So what is Public Safety here for?” you may ask. You may wonder why they weren’t guarding the dorms. Well, that’s not their job. They are here to serve students, to keep students safe. With a big campus and much to do, they’re not your housekeeper and they’re not your personal watch guard. If they have any responsibility in the matter, it comes after your things are already stolen.
Many of the items reported stolen have already been found and are in the process of being returned. Public Safety staff aren’t sitting on their butts listening to everyone blame them. They’re ignoring the accusations and working hard to help those throwing them. And they’re pretty good at it too.
At the beginning of the school year, and many times since, Public Safety encourages students to keep track of all their valuables, and even provides a handout to record each item and its serial number.
When people steal things from campus, they tend to bring them to pawn shops around the city. If Public Safety has your item’s serial number, they can locate it while they search these pawn shops, which they do.
These complaints are not a sign that Public Safety is not doing its job. It’s a case that proves why we need Public Safety.
No matter how good of a school or how honest students are, crime is going to happen. Just like the police in the real world, Public Safety isn’t here to keep track of your items for you and watch over them day and night. They offer tips for prevention, and in cases like this where things are stolen, they help you recover them.
Being angry that you lost your laptop, your CD player, or your X-Box is O.K. We’re human and we’re allowed to get upset. We’re also intelligent, and it is not acceptable to blindly throw accusations.
For one, Public Safety isn’t even in charge of the searches, and furthermore, they’re your best chance of getting things back.
Here’s something new: instead of blaming the wrong people simply because they’re an authority figure, take the time to determine who is at fault and who is helping you get your stuff back. If more people did that, Public Safety would be receiving a lot more thanks.