2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Houses frequent targets for robberies
By: Veronique Bergeron
Issue date: 3/24/06 Section: News
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Recent muggings on campus have borne intense discussion on campus security: students have been told again and again to walk in groups, report suspicious persons, ask tailgaters in dorms for Macalester IDs. Off-campus students have buddied up, dorm residents have been warned, but between these two options lies a tenuous group for security. Outlying Macalester-owned houses such as the Language Houses, campus houses near St. Clair Avenue, the cottages on Macalester Street and the Grand Cambridge Apartments (GCA) are unique security paradoxes with a history of problems. Many improvements have been made to these houses aimed at improving security.
Since the muggings, Residential Life has told RAs in the GCA/campus houses/cottages complex that they should not put themselves in a potentially harmful situation. Betsey Engebretson '07, a Resident Advisor in the GCA said that her rounds were changed a bit after the muggings.
“We were told that if we were walking alone, we didn't have to go to [campus] houses because that's too far away and it's not very well-lit out there,” Engebretson said. Res. Life gave instruction that while RAs could drive to this area or go in groups, they would not be reprimanded if they chose to skip the houses on weekday rounds as long as they reported not going.
Engebretson said she preferred not to go to the campus houses alone and had followed this directive. In terms of the security of the physical sites she monitors, though, she was confident. “I've never felt unsafe, and I've never had to deal with a theft on my rounds,” she said.
According to Assistant Director of Facilities Management Terry Gorman, many additions have been made to outlying housing in recent years. For example, the Language Houses have recently been equipped with self-locking doors that remain closed at all times.
“Even before we changed those locks, there's not a lot of crime in the neighborhood,” Gorman said. “Up until that time we would find many of the doors at the Language Houses open … Before we changed the locks, something would be lost with no signs of forced entry, so we would assume it was a robbery.” Furthermore, the Language Houses were also equipped with security windows last summer.
Since the muggings, Residential Life has told RAs in the GCA/campus houses/cottages complex that they should not put themselves in a potentially harmful situation. Betsey Engebretson '07, a Resident Advisor in the GCA said that her rounds were changed a bit after the muggings.
“We were told that if we were walking alone, we didn't have to go to [campus] houses because that's too far away and it's not very well-lit out there,” Engebretson said. Res. Life gave instruction that while RAs could drive to this area or go in groups, they would not be reprimanded if they chose to skip the houses on weekday rounds as long as they reported not going.
Engebretson said she preferred not to go to the campus houses alone and had followed this directive. In terms of the security of the physical sites she monitors, though, she was confident. “I've never felt unsafe, and I've never had to deal with a theft on my rounds,” she said.
According to Assistant Director of Facilities Management Terry Gorman, many additions have been made to outlying housing in recent years. For example, the Language Houses have recently been equipped with self-locking doors that remain closed at all times.
“Even before we changed those locks, there's not a lot of crime in the neighborhood,” Gorman said. “Up until that time we would find many of the doors at the Language Houses open … Before we changed the locks, something would be lost with no signs of forced entry, so we would assume it was a robbery.” Furthermore, the Language Houses were also equipped with security windows last summer.
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