By: Kyle Chmielowski
Wilbur Wright College’s new head of security Gisella Limon reveals extensive changes she intends to bring to Wright College.
Wright College is very unique, it is the only open campus out of all the seven City Colleges of Chicago, meaning students and faculty don’t need an ID to enter the building. Other City Colleges have turnstiles that require students and faculty to have their ID on them at all times.
Imran Khan, a student majoring in cybersecurity, said it would be time-consuming to have to show your ID. “There already is a solution to minimize the possibility of any threats,” said Khan, pointing out that he thinks having a security staff in the campus center is already enough to keep people safe.
Limon encourages students to carry around their IDs. Along with President Oroz, she is in favor of the open campus. “I think it’s a good thing to have an open campus but you also have to have the counterpart which is the security part.”
An additional change she offers to Wright College is to focus on security in the parking garage. This is a common concern for students. Jose Hernandez, SGA senator, said, “There should be some type of security downstairs, like their office space, if somebody can come around and make sure everything’s ok.”
Limon plans to implement this, with a security guard patrolling and a patrol vehicle in the parking garage. She suggests adding a security guard at the entrance of the library to keep people safe and a dispatcher watching the cameras and writing the reports.
Cameras currently surround all seven floors of the garage. Anyone can access it without needing any sort of identification. Limon's strategies call for possible student involvement. “We need to bring other generations into the group so we can stay in tune with the population of the campus community. I would love to have some students that could be security assistants,” she said.
Students enter the parking garage. Limon emphasized that she wants to improve security in the parking garage. Photo Credit: Kyle Chmielowski
Sergeant Terry Williams, who runs the student patrol program at the University of Illinois Chicago, shared the benefits of having the program if Wright College decides to implement it.
“It’s really beneficial to the community themselves because now they have direct access and exposure to notify the public safety system. It can potentially deter crimes or other unwanted activity,” Williams said.
While starting a student patrol program at Wright remains an idea, there are other initiatives Limon plans to implement that will offer ways for students to get involved. She wants to train students, faculty, and administration on how to lead a response in an active shooter situation or fire drill as a floor leader.
A floor leader would be trained to know what to do and where to meet in the event of a safety issue. Limon voiced, that if anyone is interested in becoming a floor leader they can email her at glimon7@ccc.edu.
The Security staff is constantly monitoring the campus center from their station pictured here. Photo Credit: Kyle Chmielowski
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