One student attempting to contact the Office of Safety and Security for updates on runaway fugitive Keith Green was met with a brusque attitude.
Caitlyn Fuoco, ‘13, called Security after reading a tweet warning that a man wearing a white shirt was heading towards North Main Street.
“The last information we received from security was that they were off campus at three or four o’clock,” said Fuoco. “We hadn’t heard anything from the school, so we were confused and alarmed.”
Fuoco told the security personnel that students were walking around outside and asked if another campus alert could be sent out to clarify the situation.
According to Fuoco, however, the staffer dismissed her worries.
“‘We sent the email out earlier. I am not their mother. And they can make their own choices,’” Fuoco said, recounting the conversation.
“I thought that was really poorly handled and in a lot of ways, callous,” Fuoco said, adding that she understood the difficulties Security faced during the pursuit.
Fuoco took to Twitter and Facebook to express dissatisfaction with the situation.
“We know all this information because of other students,” she said. “We don’t know anything that’s going on because of the school.”
Security declined to comment.
Grow up. • Apr 22, 2012 at 2:41 pm
I know several people that were escorted back to their apartments from security. So I ask, what is the FULL story for those “denied.” Did they need someone to walk them from the Vuk to Cawflish?
We are all adults here; so act like it. Students at this school are babied way too much compared to other schools… so be thankful you even got the attention you did. They did a great job. I give security and the administration props. They handled the situation as those involved were adults; not middle schools kids that needed to be coddled.
Neylonh • Apr 19, 2012 at 11:49 am
To be fair, there’s not much security can do about people walking around–people are going to do what they want regardless of warnings given.
Student • Apr 19, 2012 at 11:29 am
From the website: “The Office of Campus Security provides protection and a number of other
services to the Allegheny community. Located in the Newton Observatory,
the office is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It offers escort
services, emergency medical transport, the motor pool, and maintains a
lost and found service.”
Yes Campus Security, you’re not our mothers. Most of us have mothers hundreds, even thousands of miles away who have done (and continue to do) everything in their power to guarantee a safe and secure environment for us when we are home. But Allegheny is our home away from home, and the services you ‘provide’ and ‘offer’ are those that our mothers would provide for us in times of need. So you’re not our mothers, because if mother’s ran that office last night, students would not have to stay up concerned about their safety and wondering what the hell is going on. Students would not have to wake up the next morning wondering if it is really safe to go to class.
Student • Apr 19, 2012 at 4:31 pm
You could have called security at any time for an escort. I think that’s good enough. Security is right, they’re not your mother. You have a mother, and you’re an adult now, security doesn’t need to constantly hold your hand. They didn’t update you because they sent an email saying classes were resuming, that’s good enough. They would not have resumed classes if there was anything dangerous going on, which is not a difficult mental leap to make.
Another Student • Apr 19, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Answering a concerned student doesn’t seem like to much to ask, especially when there hadn’t been an official statement in a number of hours. Asking security about a sighting seems like a totally reasonable request.
Student • Apr 19, 2012 at 7:06 pm
I would disagree. If you followed any of the students who kept constant reporting of the case (whether Facebook or Twitter), the police were following the suspect back onto the Meadville area and was allegedly close to campus. That fact wholeheartedly warranted another campus-wide security update to heighten the issue for students. The stict lockdown engaged between 11:45am and 3pm was originally based on the knowledge he was in the area.
Also, while I cannot confirm it 100%, two cases were made online of students being denied escort services.
Finally, even when you are an adult, you rely on the police forces and national guard in times of crisis or immediate danger (like this).
The fact of the matter is dozens, if not hundreds of students were placed in a state of uncertainty because there was no central campus authority providing campus-wide information between (roughly) 4:30pm Wed and 6am Thur. That is in my mind a very significant failure on the part of the college administration. Especially when an outfit like the Security Office is open 24hrs a day. They had every capability of using the emergency programs that send out texts/emails to every registered member (essentially all students) with updates.
Hilbilly08 • Apr 19, 2012 at 8:25 pm
One of my friends asked for an escort back to their room and security denied her. So yes you could have called security for an escort at any time, but they wouldn’t give it to you.