Dear Campus Safety

Security?

Dear Officers,

Today I received a phone call concerning my dog Ying.  I called the York College campus officer back and was told there were complaints about my dog staying in my car while I am in class.  Hmmm.

Yesterday, while my boyfriend and I were in the Humanities building passing time until 8 PM, I could hear two kids running in the halls and laughing.  I looked out the door of the Professional Writing Studio and as the kids ran by one  a jaw breaker inside, hitting Dale in the head.  They kept going and when they looped around the older boy threw another jaw breaker and hit Dale a second time.  I was furious.

I followed the boys and they ran out of the building.  I picked up the phone right inside the double doors to call campus security but there was no number listed by the phone to contact them.  I went back to the studio and used my cell phone (number is in my contacts) and reached an answering machine.  Now I was really pissed!  I went in the learning center and asked someone to look up the emergency number of campus security.  I then called and let the emergency operator know about these two boys.

About 5-8 minutes later, I walk outside and the same two boys are taking ice out of the Gatorade containers behind Humanities and throwing it at cars and people.  When I yelled at them, the older boy started throwing the ice at me, running around in circles, and laughing.  I think it’s possible he may have been on something by the way he was acting.  I went back inside and called the emergency number again.  Meanwhile, the boys jumped into the stream and ran through the properties on the other side.

Oh, campus security did eventually arrive.  Of course they missed everything even though at least 15 minutes had passed with these boys raising hell.  Maybe if they gave more attention to the actual problems on campus they wouldn’t have the free time to bitch about my dog in the car.  I’m told people are complaining about Ying.  Complaining how?  He is fed, has water, gets exercised between classes, and cannot hurt anyone walking past my car.  Why is it a problem on campus?

Here are some problems that should be addressed.

1.  The phone number for campus safety and emergency should be posted by every phone on campus.
2. The response time to a call needs to greatly improve.
3. The removal of people trespassing on campus needs to be taken seriously.  So far I’ve seen at least one trespasser confront a student in the parking lot with the intention of taking her personal property.
4. Any kids on campus that are clearly too young to be students should be questioned why they are there.  I don’t know if the boys from last night were children of a professor, staff etc., but their behavior was disruptive and possibly dangerous to others as well as themselves.  What if they had entered the building with guns or knives instead of jaw breakers, and Runts candies?  What if they had been throwing rocks instead of ice?

My dog isn’t hurting anyone.  If people are complaining, I would love to know why.  Mr. Security Officer didn’t have an answer to why people were complaining, just that my dog can’t hang out in my car.  Sounds like a bunch of dog shit to me.  How about security officers focus on the underage drinking, drug use, non-permit parked cars and trespassers on campus?

I can’t say campus security makes me feel any safer.  Can you?

~P.