Blue lights: a staple throughout Keene State College’s campus, excepting one glaringly obvious place—the pathway from the Joyce Athletic Field to Wal-Mart and the bridge across the Ashuelot River.
For students who make the trek late at night across the tennis courts, the lack of a blue light or 24 hour light source is a site of concern—both for their personal safety and for the safety of the Keene State College community at large.
This absence of light is not solely the fault of the college, as the property on which the trail runs is owned by the city of Keene, not the college. Fortunately, Campus Safety and KSC have come to an agreement with the town that will now allow the college to place a spotlight at this much-needed site.
This spotlight is only one aspect of the improvements that Campus Safety has enacted this year. Others include the placement of surveillance cameras around the perimeters of freshmen dorms, an upgrade of the existing blue light system, and the office move from the decaying Grafton House to the much more suitable and functional Keddy House.
The spotlight by Joyce Field will make travel to and from the Winchester parking lot much easier, both in terms of preventing assaults/unwanted encounters as well as illuminating what becomes an veritable ice rink in winter—one that could not be clearly seen and avoided in years past.
The surveillance cameras located outside certain dorms aim to cut down on vandalism and other illegal behavior that occurs more frequently at freshmen dorms.
In turn, it will allow Campus Safety to identify the perpetrator, thereby lowering the end-of-the-year floor and building damage costs that are added on to students’ bills.
Although the new cameras around dorms have garnered a mix response from students—ranging from claims of invasion of privacy to expressing approval of the placement—it cannot be denied that these measures all aim to make Keene State College’s campus a safer space for all its students and visitors and reflect the college’s commitment to continual improvement.