For the first time in five years, a College of Dupage student has been the victim of a violent crime here on campus. What’s worse, the offenders are still at large. The technology normally used to catch this type of event failed, leaving us with the chilling reminder that technology isn’t perfect, and that we are ultimately responsible for our own safety. The student body, faculty and staff are in shock. This campus, whose safety we take for granted every day, suddenly feels less safe than before.

On Sept. 12, in the late evening, a young woman was approached by two young men with a gun and forced to give them her backpack. After successfully obtaining the bag, they fled across the street to an apartment complex being pursued by campus police as well as local authorities. While these men are still at large, campus police are working diligently to re-establish the sense of safety that they worked hard to create on campus.

At this time, there are two major ways that these officers keep tabs on the school, both of which seemingly have their own issues. The first one is one many COD students have grown familiar with: security cameras. We see them posted all around the school, often times not even giving them a second thought. Believe it or not, there are people on the other side of those.

Unfortunately, these cameras are only so useful. They only shoot from the inside of the school out, and because of this, lines of vision can become compromised. The evening the robbery took place, for example, police officers did not have a direct line of sight with the offenders.

In an interview with COD Police Chief Joe Mullins he explained, “ We were not really able to get much of a description from the camera footage. Again, it comes from the building, and it’s shot out into the parking lot. It was night. The parking lot is lit, but with cameras, at night there is a certain loss of clarity. So you can see the individuals. The actual event takes place behind a tree. So with the line of sight from the camera, we don’t actually see the exchange between the offenders and the victim.”

There are also call boxes available, which will put you in immediate contact with campus police. These are stationed in and around campus as well.

The major problem with these two resources is the fact that we are relying on technology. While technology can certainly aid in capturing evidence and protecting a campus, they aren’t always reliable. Even the simplest thing can render them useless, like a drained battery.

“We have a very large number of [cameras and call boxes] at any given time,” explains Mullins. “I know that we have some call boxes that have some batteries reported on, so we do have some of them that are not functioning. I think that we have signs on them, but the signs could be removed.”

We at the Courier, however, believe it’s essential that we take our fate into our own hands, so to speak. While the campus police are a great resource, and one we should not take for granted, we students need to take responsibility for our own safety.

There is a way for you to stay in contact with the police that is entirely in your control. The Guardian App connects you to the police through your smartphone. It gives you options such as setting a safety timer for when you will get to your car, connecting you to campus police via GPS tracking, and a two-way messaging system for reporting suspicious behavior. This is a great option because it puts the ball in your court, and even if you happen to be near faulty campus technology you can feel safe and protected.

But some things you can do are even simpler than downloading an app, and they all have to do with common sense.

Students must be more aware of our surroundings. With the growth of smartphones, we’ve become used to not looking where we’re going, or scanning our surroundings. We keep headphones in at all times. As enjoyable as listening to your iPod can be, it’s not worth it when you’re walking around an open area. You are quite literally cutting off one of your senses, and chances are your guard is down.
The event that occurred Sept. 12 frightened us all. But the best thing we can do when situations like this arise is learn from what happened. We have to start thinking of our safety, both as individuals and as a campus, as the utmost priority. We must work hand in hand with campus police, and with each other. We must create a safer COD.