As part of response initiative following an attack on a professor in Anderson Hall, Campus Safety Services has received funding approval for the first round of new building security implementations.
Acting Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said CSS and Temple Facilities Management are planning to initiate necessary measurements to prevent students from entering the academic buildings without security clearance.
One example of the proposed security plan is to install delayed-egress alarms into the outside doorways in Anderson and Gladfelter halls. The technology makes it difficult for students to “piggyback” each other by forcing someone to push the door for a substantial amount of time until an alarm is activated, then the door can be opened. These types of alarms have been implemented in many department stores to reduce theft.
These new initiatives were submitted by a capital expenditure request form and approved for $300,000.
The second floor of both buildings can be accessed from the outside with minor resistance, and students have opened the door to other people waiting outside with the thought of being generous to their classmates.
However, this sort of cordialness can weaken the safety net that the university is trying to uphold, Leone said.
In late October, an 81-year-old Temple professor was assaulted in his office in Anderson Hall. Darryl Moon, 45, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and robbery.
It is unclear how the suspect entered the building.
Plans to implement these tactics in other buildings will be discussed in the future, but Leone strongly emphasized that other security options will be considered.
“We are not going to do a
one-size-fits-all kind of plan,” he said. “It depends on the demand of each building.”
For example, the Science Education and Research Center that will be completed in Summer 2014 will have an enhanced turn-style door that is similar to Morgan Hall.
Other security models, such as the ID card scanners at the TECH Center, have been efficient, yet it can cause long lines.
“We don’t want students to experience a long wait like an airport,” Leone said. “Each building will be picked out to test different security options.”
One possible long-term solution for CSS is to have a universal security system that will be successful for every building on campus.
“A uniformed security measure for every building is possible,” Leone said. “In a couple of years, it may happen.”
Eddie Barrenenchea can be reached at eddie.barrenenchea@temple.edu.
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