In the four years that I have been attending Illinois Tech, campus safety has been one of the core improvements that the administration has been spearheading. There have been several instances over the years of people getting run over and severely injured, students robbed on campus, and even instances of break-ins after a student accidentally left a door open. Since my first year, though, significant improvements have been made, including the installation of a new camera system, the hiring of more Public Safety officers, more lighting across dark spots on campus, and more building walkthroughs at night and during the day.
While Public Safety has improved its presence on campus, there have been several lapses in safety that should not be happening, especially without the amount of time and money invested in these improvements. Despite a yearly campus safety walk occurring, which has been led by the Student Government Association (SGA) since 2023 as part of an initiative created by Alumni and former Senator Joseph Shamaon, Public Safety is still unable to meet basic safety needs in areas of campus with high traffic. During the career fair earlier this semester, a student got hit by a vehicle on State Street while trying to reach MTCC on the crossing that reaches the MTCC west entrance. Just minutes before, a crossing guard was present, but was nowhere to be seen at the time of the incident. I have had a few near misses while crossing State Street and 33rd Street.
In more recent times, two students were assaulted with paintball guns by a vehicle with masked individuals on Michigan Avenue, right next to Gunsaulus Hall, one of the key dark spots of safety on campus. This incident is in reference to a story written last week by Edwin Huallpa and Leonardo Maya-Tovar. The two were luckily able to walk away from the incident, but not unscathed (images below). Huallpa and Maya were, however, both very shaken and scared for their lives, especially since the incident was unprovoked. The vehicle allegedly came to a screeching halt, and its occupants began yelling in the direction of the two students before firing projectiles, which were later revealed as high-speed paintballs. Gunsaulus Hall also has remains of this incident in the form of paint splatter (images below). Huallpa and Maya both filed a police report; however, both the Chicago Police and Public Safety failed to perform a proper wellness check on the two, and failed to take proper action, such as checking cameras or sending an alert.
While this incident could be written off as an overexaggeration of a simple prank by many, this is anything but a prank. This is a lapse in campus safety and proves once more that Public Safety must step up its game. Too often do students report officers sitting or “patrolling” in larger groups instead of dedicating themselves to protecting the students. While we have no technological solution for the street crossings, Public Safety must step up and keep crossing guards at major intersections, or at the very least, station patrols near crossing locations always. Michigan Avenue is often left alone by Public Safety, yet it’s the least well-lit part of campus, and often has zero officers stationed on that side of campus, despite being the area where it’s needed the most.
These lapses in public safety could eventually lead to further injuries to students or even a lethal result. It’s a thought that crosses everyone’s mind when a projectile weapon is pulled on them: “Is that a gun?” We should not allow our students to be faced with that thought ever again, because in the day and age we live in, god forbid that a projectile weapon be a real gun, and an incident that could’ve been prevented by the presence of a patrol, result in the severe harm of students. Public Safety must learn from its mistakes and must find a path forward with campus safety. This is not just a letter, but rather a call to action on Public Safety. The administration has done its part, SGA has done theirs, and students haven’t done theirs. Now it is the turn of Public Safety to step up and protect our students from harm.
