Let's say goodbye to the welcome centers
By Renoil Simpkins III
Issue date: 3/3/10 Section: Opinion
This past fall, LU students and staff waited with anticipation for the new welcome centers that were "designed" to keep the campus safe. Some thought they were badly needed, many had mixed feelings about them, while others did not see their purpose.
I must admit, I could not see how cutting off convenient entrances to campus and sticking two jail cell sized booths at main entrances would prevent another school disturbance. The welcome centers have been up for five months now and I dislike them even more. It is a waste of time for students to have to drive from one end of campus to another for the smallest of things like going to the post office, or going to the Wesley Center for a quick bite to eat. Even worse, students that live in the Commons have to miss an entrance just to come through another one where the only difference is that you "might" have to show your I.D. to enter. This brings up another problem.
When the centers were first installed, the person in the booth checked everyone in the car, but just a few weeks later that was no longer being done. There have been many times where I have driven onto campus with LU and non-LU students in the car and the driver was the only person who had to show an I.D. If I'm not mistaken, all occupants need to show an I.D. Yet most times, cars are waved in as they pull up to the welcome center and the occupants are then free to roam around campus. Other times, all you have to do is stick something that looks like a picture I.D. up to your window and off you go! Now, not every booth worker will wave your car through. There is an older gentleman that works at the booth nearest the police station overnight. He will come out and scan your I.D. every time. However, he is one of the few attendants who do this. Showing your I.D. was required to keep persons from entering campus with warrants and criminal records. In order to know any of this info the I.D. must be scanned-or so I thought.
These welcome centers have been a waste of money. We have a new student center that still has not been completed. We also have students that aren't able to stay at school and better themselves because they don't have the necessary funds to pay tuition. Money spent on the welcome centers could've gone to helping students stay in school. Not only that, but they pose a safety hazard. If something serious was to happen and we needed to get off campus quickly, we couldn't because we now only have two entrances. There is no way everyone can leave campus at the same time through two exits.
Why were the blue stumps that surround the campus installed? I'm assuming they are to keep cars from driving onto campus. Was there a time where cars didn't use the entrances, but took the grass or wooden bridge near the ponds to four-wheel onto campus? I highly doubt it. Someone please help me understand their use.
The welcome centers and blue stumps are not serving their purpose and have become pointless. Campus can still be accessed without them so what are they really protecting?
I must admit, I could not see how cutting off convenient entrances to campus and sticking two jail cell sized booths at main entrances would prevent another school disturbance. The welcome centers have been up for five months now and I dislike them even more. It is a waste of time for students to have to drive from one end of campus to another for the smallest of things like going to the post office, or going to the Wesley Center for a quick bite to eat. Even worse, students that live in the Commons have to miss an entrance just to come through another one where the only difference is that you "might" have to show your I.D. to enter. This brings up another problem.
When the centers were first installed, the person in the booth checked everyone in the car, but just a few weeks later that was no longer being done. There have been many times where I have driven onto campus with LU and non-LU students in the car and the driver was the only person who had to show an I.D. If I'm not mistaken, all occupants need to show an I.D. Yet most times, cars are waved in as they pull up to the welcome center and the occupants are then free to roam around campus. Other times, all you have to do is stick something that looks like a picture I.D. up to your window and off you go! Now, not every booth worker will wave your car through. There is an older gentleman that works at the booth nearest the police station overnight. He will come out and scan your I.D. every time. However, he is one of the few attendants who do this. Showing your I.D. was required to keep persons from entering campus with warrants and criminal records. In order to know any of this info the I.D. must be scanned-or so I thought.
These welcome centers have been a waste of money. We have a new student center that still has not been completed. We also have students that aren't able to stay at school and better themselves because they don't have the necessary funds to pay tuition. Money spent on the welcome centers could've gone to helping students stay in school. Not only that, but they pose a safety hazard. If something serious was to happen and we needed to get off campus quickly, we couldn't because we now only have two entrances. There is no way everyone can leave campus at the same time through two exits.
Why were the blue stumps that surround the campus installed? I'm assuming they are to keep cars from driving onto campus. Was there a time where cars didn't use the entrances, but took the grass or wooden bridge near the ponds to four-wheel onto campus? I highly doubt it. Someone please help me understand their use.
The welcome centers and blue stumps are not serving their purpose and have become pointless. Campus can still be accessed without them so what are they really protecting?
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