Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                            Matt Dulin    Barrett Goldsmith    Zach Lee 
                Jim Parsons            Christian Schmidt           Blake Whitaker

What a crime

First it was a series of car burglaries, then a string of armed robberies in which the suspects -- now in police custody -- wielded shotguns and demanded students' wallets.

It's enough to make people wonder if they're safe. 

Crime is not a rampant problem here. We're not the safest urban university, but considering our location and other campuses dealing with similar situations, crime is handled well. The two suspects in the armed robbery incidents are in police custody, and you can trust UHPD is working to resolve the other cases.

But this year's crimes are starting to bother a few people, prompting the Student Government Association to call for a town hall meeting to discuss safety issues. 

Today's SGA meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Campus Activities Large Conference Room will also offer a forum for concerned students.

However, it will be a real crime if no students participate at either forum. Without student input, it will be difficult for UHPD, or any other official body, to gauge how students feel about campus security.

The University needs to seriously consider video surveillance of the parking lots and driveways throughout the campus. 

At Georgetown University, which boasts about being "one of the safest urban universities," police laud the dozen or so cameras that keep an eye on campus 24 hours a day. They help identify criminals and serve as sentinels that ward off shady individuals.

The cost would be well worth the peace of mind, and we've yet to hear a good argument against having cameras, other than cost. Students seem to feel that they're being asked to pay for services they never use; most would at least understand paying for campus safety services.

As the University grows, it will become more difficult to keep the campus secure. It's important for the University to keep security in mind as it plans for a time when 50,000 students traverse the campus.
 Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu