Students call for more security

Campus apartments are often the first housing option for many students because they believe they’re more secure than off-campus apartments. However, some students say that is not always true.

Last December, Jingyu Li, a student who lives in a campus apartment found a man standing outside her bedroom and looking at her through the window at 2 a.m.

“I was pretty shocked,” Li said. “I found that man when I closed my curtains; we were just face to face and I was so close to him. What is worse is that he can see my face clearly but I can’t see him clearly.”

After that, Li called the police and sent an e-mail to the apartment office to ask if there were any security cameras. The university police came to her apartment in a short time. The apartment office replied to her e-mail with the suggestion to “put on your curtain.”

“The university police are very responsible, but the attitude of the apartment office is very disappointing,” Li said.


At the same time, there are other students who say they saw strange people in near campus apartments.

“In the evening, I have been seeing a man in a red coat dangling near the mailbox for many days,” said Hannah Beard, a student who lives in Anthony Apartments. “It is so cold and there is nobody outside, that man is just so weird and I feel a bit scary.”

Jim Duckham, the Director of Public Safety, said that this kind of thing is rare, and once danger happens, university police can reach the scene quickly to guarantee students’ safety.

“Ball State is an open university, we can’t prevent others from entering our campus,” Duckham said. “Our university police are patrolling the campus every day to ensure that they can reach the scene if danger occurs. We also need help from other residents, they can call us when they see something wrong.”

Even with school police on patrol, students are still hoping that they will have comprehensive monitoring facilities in campus apartments.

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