Keeping Milton Safe: An Interview with Campus Safety
By CHARLOTTE KANE ‘19
As of last week, students and faculty must swipe their IA cards to enter the AMC, Pritzker, and the RSG. These changes have been met with mixed reactions from the student body. Bella Lora ‘21 explains that the new security measures are “a good start, but not nearly enough if we want to be truly safe; teachers need to have a plan for if someone comes into the building, instead of just depending on this [IA] system.” In a survey of 202 students, 19% of students said that the changes were necessary.
To get a better understanding of how the system came to be and what the students and faculty should know about safety on campus, I interviewed the Director of Campus Safety, Jay Hackett.
Why did Campus Safety implement these changes?
We continually assess best practice for providing a safe and secure environment for students to live and learn, and for faculty and staff to work. The change that we made this Monday has been something that we have been working towards over time. We work with all divisions on campus when we propose something like this. Our three divisions—Lower, Middle and Upper Schools—all have different needs, and one system needs to be able to serve all of them.
Was there a specific incident or person that motivated the change?
No, nothing specific [motivated the change].
This summer, as well as in previous summers, we added card access to additional buildings… we are trying to provide greater access to students, faculty, and staff by adding “swipe to enter” for additional buildings rather than using manual locks which are far less convenient for everyone. Our culture is an open and inquisitive one, and we need ensure that members of our community can get into spaces they need at various times to fully experience Milton. We also need to make sure non-community members can walk only into the buildings that we deem appropriate.
Do you anticipate or have you had any challenges with these changes?
Everyone is used to using IAs to gain access to buildings (and at the snack bar, bookstore, etc). Boarders need their cards to enter the houses every day. The major challenge was implementing the system during the school year, which we did in order to allow our new students to get familiar with the campus first. Doing this [renovation] during the school year required coordination between Academic Technology Services (ATS), Bryan Price, Campus Safety (Katie Williams), and our card access vendor, BCM Controls. This team effort started last weekend and continued through the week to make sure everything was working properly.
We are seeing many members of the faculty, staff, and students who find their previously lost IAs and attempt to use them. Once you report your IA (ID card) lost and a new one is issued, the old IA no longer works—it cannot be used get into buildings. Also, just “hip checking” your wallet or tossing your pocketbook at a card reader will not work when you have additional cards in the wallet such as an MBTA “Charlie Card” or ATM Card; the system attempts to read [these cards] and rejects them. We would recommend that everyone consider getting a small pocket for the outside of their phone (available at campus safety or the dean’s office) or carrying the card separately on a lanyard. [However], punching the card will affect its ability to work.
What makes keeping the Milton campus safe different than keeping other institutions safe?
Our location is what makes Milton unique in that we do not have a central gate or office where everyone goes before entering campus. [Also], we have two of major roads going through the center of campus, and they are always busy.
The teamwork between Milton Academy, Milton Police, Milton Fire, [and] Fallon Ambulance, as well as Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, provides us the best possible resources to keep our community safe. Some schools do not have this type of relationship.
What do you want the student body to know about Campus Safety?
We are here to help you and keep you safe. We have officers on duty 24/7. If you need access to a space, we will come as soon as we can. Depending on the space, we also might have to check with an adult to ensure someone knows where a group of students is.
“See Something, Say Something” is the biggest community service that anyone can do for us. If something does not look right to you, please call campus safety at 617-898-2911.