Issue 6: Campus safety

Every issue, The Maneater will choose a topic important to students and ask the Missouri Students Association presidential candidates to explain what they plan to do about it.

By Erica Zucco and Gwen Daniels

Published Nov. 2, 2007

Dustin Barker

Jessica Ekhoff

Missouri Students Association presidential candidate Dustin Barker and vice presidential candidate Jessica Ekhoff said they feel implementing more streetlights around Columbia will lead to a safer experience for MU students.

If elected, one of the slate's main ventures would be working with Columbia's mayor to add streetlights around Greektown, on University Avenue and in neighborhoods surrounding the campus.

Barker and Ekhoff also said they support the idea of requiring students to present their student identification card for entry into residential halls 24 hours a day.

The slate said they do not feel Jim Kelley and Chelsea Johnson's plan to install cameras into residential hall common areas would be the most effective method of enhancing campus safety.

"This idea is not new," Ekhoff said. "In fact, plans were already in progress, but it's a very expensive process that, right now, does not have adequate funding."

The slate said they feel the best way to deal with crime on campus is through prevention rather than trying to fix problems after the fact.

Jim Kelley

Chelsea Johnson

MSA presidential candidate Jim Kelley and vice presidential candidate Chelsea Johnson said they advocate installing security cameras to promote residence hall safety. Although the Department of Residential Life has a timeline in place to install cameras, the slate hopes to expedite the process.

The candidates said security cameras are the most successful way to enhance physical safety and reduce the threat of property crime.

"The bottom line is that these cameras work," the slate said in an e-mail. "They've already been deployed in College Avenue Residence Hall, to much acclaim from residents and administrators alike."

In addition, the slate said they would work with MSA leaders to reinstate the Hate Report, a compilation of reported hate crimes on campus.

Can they do that?

MU Police Department

Capt. Brian Weimer

Candidates should work with the Department of Residential Life to implement plans for residential hall safety, MU Police Capt. Brian Weimer said.

Locking the residence halls would prevent unauthorized people from entering, Weimer said. He said the plan would be less effective if students prop doors open.

Weimer said security cameras could act as deterrents and help the police department review situations.

"It's important to realize that there's no magic cure-all, but the more security measures you put in place, the better," Weimer said.