Emergency Light: Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
Increased AU Security Shuttle hours, increased security cameras, a greater police presence on campus, an evaluation of AU Alert and security escorts at the library are just some of the major changes campus security instituted this week in wake of the death of student Lauren Burk. The SGA also sponsored a Security Forum for students and employees who wished to voice concerns about safety on March 10.
“Above all else, the safety of Auburn students and employees and the security of campus is our most important priority,” said Jay Gogue, president of Auburn University. “We’re in the process of a critical and comprehensive review of the safety procedures and protocols now in place. In addition to the changes already made in how AU Alert is used and activated, we’re looking at what other security measures may need to be improved, modified or added.”
Executive Director of Security and Public Safety Melvin Owens said he wanted to remind people Auburn is a city, therefore things that are present in other cities are present in Auburn, and they should always be alert and aware of their surroundings.
The hours of the AU Security Shuttle have increased, and it is now running from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. until further notice.
Director of Parking and Transit Services David George said Wednesday, March 5, 588 people rode the night security shuttle. He said Thursday, March 6, 557 students were carried on the night security shuttle.
“We have increased the number of persons, police and security, who are out and about on campus,” Owens said.
Owens said efforts are being made to carry out programming, such as security cameras and other things, to increase security on campus that were in progress of being implemented before the tragedy occurred.
“There are cameras on campus, and we are in the process of increasing and upgrading cameras,” Owens said. “I would not like at this time to tell you specifics as to where cameras are located, but that a camera was not in the band parking lot.”
Owens said starting in October, they began looking at cameras, and his plan is to have cameras in the most important areas of campus by August.
Owens said the AU Alert system was not used to immediately notify students of the death of their classmate because it was initially set up to send messages in the event of imminent danger, a call to action or response.
Owens said students did not receive an e-mail about the death until 12 p.m. on Wednesday because they did not get confirmation from the Auburn Police Department that she was a student until 2 a.m.
“As we talked to the police it was quite evident to us, and acknowledging we could have been wrong, but it was our general feeling that there was not an immediate danger to the students or people on campus; therefore, we did not utilize AU Alert,” Owens said.
Owens said although a car was on fire on campus, it was still not seen as imminent danger.
“We are working on reevaluating our usage of AU Alert and we will come back, and we will make some changes on it, and students will be notified as we progress through maximum utilization of this important tool,” Owens said.
Owens said whether AU Alert will be used to notify students about fires on campus and the death of fellow students depends on the circumstances.
AU Alert was also a topic at the question and answer safety forum sponsored by the SGA.
Director of Risk Management and Safety Christine Eick, who was on the forum panel, said AU Alert was initially meant to be used when a situation required immediate action so students would not get tired of it or ignore it.
“After going through this recent tragedy, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback and what our population wants is they want to have information immediately, and they want us to use it more and so we are changing our policy to reflect that,” Eick said.
Owens said the security escorts at the library are something they hope to continue using in the future. He said 25-35 people a night are using the service.
Auburn Assistant Police Chief Tom Dawson, who was a member of the forum panel, said he wanted to hear from students and have more meetings similar to the one on Monday.
Sarah Molony, a sophomore in chemical engineering, attended the forum.
“I think the most important thing was that Chief Dawson wants to keep communication lines open with the University,” Molony said.
Griffin Bruns, a sophomore in industrial engineering, also went to the forum.
“The most important immediate effect is the increase of police presence on campus,” Bruns said.
