<p>"Best Practices: Some schools are going high-tech to fight crime. At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, more than 100 so-called smart cameras (they use a computer algorithm to detect suspicious activity) keep a constant eye on campus -- and beyond. The system recently spied a man in an alley behind an off-campus residence peering into sleeping students' rooms. A campus command center was alerted. When the man got into a car, a camera zoomed in on his license plate and then fed the number to police. Minutes later, when an armed robbery occurred nearby, the description of the suspect matched that of the would-be Johns Hopkins intruder, and the police made an arrest."</p>
<p>I am not sure as to whether this information paints JHU in a good light or otherwise. Do parents and students really want to attend school where so many security precautions are necessary? What about personal privacy? I realize that safety is an issue at many universities, especially those located in urban areas, but this example of heightened security strikes me as an excessive intrusion of students' personal privacy that might result in unwarranted encounters with police and campus security.</p>
<p>Of course this paints JHU in a great light. It shows the university being proactive in keeping students safe. There are many schools that could learn from this.</p>
<p>Are we kidding ourselves here? Did you read/hear/view the news today?
Or for the past week?
As long as anybody can walk inside a classroom with a gun, anytime, there's no security on any campus! Any other measures are just not adequate.
Please, come down to Earth!</p>
<p>"this example of heightened security strikes me as an excessive intrusion of students' personal privacy that might result in unwarranted encounters with police and campus security." </p>
<p>You make it seem like some communist regime has taken over college security -- like there are illegal wire taps, illegal search and seizures, illegal detainment of students -- oh wait, that is a communist regime that is the United States. (sorry I couldn't resist)</p>
<p>I have been at Hopkins for nearly 5 years and was here before the vast improvement in security. Since the changes I have never heard any students complain about invasions of privacy. And as for parents I have spoken with, they realize the state of affairs in today's society, and that incidents can happen ANYWHERE. All that I have spoken with appreciate that Hopkins is being pro-active with securtiy, and spending A LOT of money on these measures.</p>
<p>AdmissionsDaniel, I'm quite ashamed that you portray communism in such a negative light. That is a result of poor leadership, not communism, something I learned from a class I just took here last semester. :)</p>
<p>I'm not sure I get the sarcasm expressed here by AdmissionsDaniel, but as usual, all comes down to money. As I understand, as parents, we are now supposed to accept some level of risk [very high in fact], that our children might get killed while in college!?
If that's the kind of attitude that is promoted... no wonder that we are experiencing these type of events.
I don't think this issue is even remotely a matter of jokes!</p>
<p>I apologize to anyone who might have been offended by my sarcasm. That is me, that is how I write, and that is how I will often tackle certain subjects. My thoughts and prayers go out to all that are suffering from another horrific tragedy. </p>
<p>I prayed that after Virginia Tech I would never have to read such news, but unfortunately that is the world we all now live in. We live in dangerous times, and there are so many issues that revolve around these tragedies. When it comes to issues like this I always refrain from stepping up on a soap box and preaching about anti-gun laws, or campus safety, or even the handling of mental health issues in higher education. I have strong opinions but I do not feel it is my place to share these thoughts.</p>
<p>I will say one last thing, and that is I feel it is bit easy to react about the high risk of violence of such a nature on college campuses. Unfortunately, our children as well as all Americans are at risk everywhere nowadays -- in cities and small towns, in middle school / high schools / colleges -- in malls, movie theatres, post offices, etc. It is a sad and sorry state of affairs we all must face, but to say that students are at a higher risk at a college versus at a mall or at a restaurant ... I just don't agree with that.</p>
<p>AdmissionsDaniel, please excuse me if I was a little harsh earlier. But after a week when almost everyday you hear about another campus or school shooting, I'm a little angry. I greatly appreciate your contributions here and wish other AD's would follow your example.
The poster above though had a legitimate concern regarding privacy, and that's another wrinkle in this complex issue. However, I didn't say that kids are at a "higher risk", but exactly "some level of risk (very high)". Of course, nobody's denying that JHU is concerned about security, and they are making whatever possible to address it, but I'm sure many will agree that there's a lot more to be done.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You make it seem like some communist regime has taken over college security -- like there are illegal wire taps, illegal search and seizures, illegal detainment of students -- oh wait, that is a communist regime that is the United States. (sorry I couldn't resist)
[/quote]
The United States does not engage in illegal wire taps, illegal search and seizures and it does not illegally detain students. JHU professors and administrators can be liberal like the rest of academia but few of them would be so foolish as to compare a representative republic such as the U.S. with a communist system.</p>
<p>Our government has engaged in illegal wiretaps quite frequently, whether or not you want to believe it. And if only you knew what they were doing in our prisons overseas. Hence waterboarding was deemed illegal, not that that will stop anyone.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Our government has engaged in illegal wiretaps quite frequently, whether or not you want to believe it.
[/quote]
You cannot prove your statement because it is not true.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And if only you knew what they were doing in our prisons overseas.
[/quote]
You would not know because you are not there. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Hence waterboarding was deemed illegal, not that that will stop anyone.
[/quote]
Waterboarding resulted in the protection of American lives. During the three times it was done, it was legal and (in my opinion) appropriate. Or to use Clinton speak, it was safe, legal, and rare.</p>
<p>I think that using the safety stat as part of college rankings would be an outstanding idea. For those schools which are not living up to the highest possible standards, this would encourage more vigilance. Who doesn't think that safety should trump annual giving as a stat?</p>
<p>Back to the original topic of this post.....
As a parent of a child who attends JHU, I was very happy to hear about the steps Hopkins takes to keep their campus as safe as possible. I realize, that unfortunately today it is impossible to prevent every situation that may occur such as the tragedies like VTech and NIU.
Thanks AdminDan for keeping us posted.</p>
<p>Just to add to the original purpose of this thread... we all got an email from our security director (Director Skrodzki) after the NIU shootings. Starting next month, they are going to be installing loudspeakers around campus so that in case there were any time of incident, people would immediately become aware of it. They are also currently testing/implementing a text-messaging notification system but I've talked with Director Skrodzki and their reasoning with the loudspeakers is that cell phones may not always be completely reliable and they would want everyone to know about any incident as soon as possible.</p>
<p>We live in a society that presumes innocence. Most non-intrusive security measures will only be reactive. It's a tough ballance. We could have a "safe" police state, or anarchistic freedom. Unfortunately, I don't think we will ever have a completely safe society and remain free.</p>