Graphic by Andrija Klaric/The Gazelle
Concerns about Public Safety blocking access to dorms
This semester, at least two students have seen their IDs temporarily frozen by the Office of Public Safety for not coming down to their offices when ...
Nov 7, 2015
This semester, at least two students have seen their IDs temporarily frozen by the Office of Public Safety for not coming down to their offices when requested.
Michael Scollan, who was appointed as Public Safety's new Senior Director over the summer, stated that Public Safety will cause these lock-outs if it needs to meet with a student who is not responding to preliminary requests for an appointment.
According to an open Q&A with Scollan during last Sunday’s General Assembly, the need for meetings has arisen primarily from instances of students leaving emergency exit doors on campus open.
In these cases, Public Safety attempts to contact students whose involvement is suspected through video camera evidence. Scollan, who had previously worked at the U.S. State Department and for the San Diego Police force, noted that Public Safety does not mete out punishments after investigations.
Though possible disciplinary action is left to other offices on campus, Public Safety reserves the right to call students in for meetings and, if students do not comply, neutralize IDs to block that student’s normal access to campus spaces.
Junior Alyssa Ferreira was told by Public Safety that her ID had been frozen due to evidence showing her leaving a library fire exit open. Ferreira said she had been contacted once before Public Safety froze her ID.
“The day I was blocked from entering my building, I had a take-home midterm and was not able to access my room to retrieve any of my books or notes,” said Ferreira, who had not received a warning that her ID would be blocked. Once she went down to Public Safety, she was restored access the same day.
After collecting information during investigations, Public Safety relays findings to relevant offices such as Residential Education or Campus Life, which are then responsible for any disciplinary action moving forward. Public Safety officers also have the right to ask students for their NetIDs.
According to Scollan, the campus’ current access control system had not been in effect last semester, and so students became accustomed to using shortcuts like fire exits.
Fluctuating policies over doors, elevators and ID access have prompted questions by students over campus access and which spaces are formally designated public and which remain private.
Public Safety clarified this issue during the GA. Private spaces include areas that are frequently used by only the university community, such as residential buildings and office spaces. Public spaces include the High Line and the dining halls, though certain entrances into them require ID swipes.
The Campus Center and Arts Center, which frequently house a mix of people from both inside and outside the university, are designated as multi-use spaces. Different sections of these spaces will allow different degrees of access, depending on who the visitor is and what pass they have.
Often, Public Safety is not the office that determines who can access spaces and when. Departments that make use of the space, like the Athletics Department that is in charge of the Fitness Center, will request Public Safety to regulate access according to their appropriate hours and users.
Students have also requested more information about security cameras on campus. Security cameras are not placed in dorm rooms or offices. According to a Q&A with Student Government and Public Safety that was later published on the NYUAD Student Government Facebook page, all camera recordings are kept for an amount of time that complies with government regulations.
In the GA, Scollan clarified that cameras will tape over their old recordings, although the amount of time this takes varies from camera to camera.
In response to questions about the number of cameras, Public Safety declined to give an exact figure but told Student Government there were enough to achieve comprehensive coverage.
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