Among many other renovations that were made both on and off campus over the summer, St. Bonaventure University installed a brand new security system at the townhouses. The project concluded during the first week of classes in early September.
For the university, there has always been room for improvement within the realm of campus facilities as a whole. According to the university’s Security Director, Gary Segrue, this new system had been in the making for years.
“I completed a security assessment and subsequent five-year security improvement plan in 2017,” Segrue said. “A security technology enhancement project was approved in 2018 and commenced in February of this year. The security technology enhancements at the Townhouses consists of a new fire panel in each of the Phase Two Townhouses and electronic card access and video surveillance cameras in Phase Two and Phase Three. The goal was to implement security technology consistently across campus, primarily in the residence halls.”
For students, getting into their townhouse is now much like getting into Robinson and Falconio Halls when they were freshmen. Instead of using a key, they’ll now gain access to their respective buildings with their student ID cards.
“Upon completion of this project in August 2020, all of our residence halls, with the exception of Phase One Townhouses, will have electronic card access at the main entry points. It allows us to monitor common areas in our residences with video,” said Segrue.
Segrue mentioned that this project will be one of several to commence in the future. The university is in the process of setting a standard for security technology and student safety, creating consistent security technology across St. Bonaventure’s campus.
“…support from the University President, CFO, facilities and IT departments was necessary. The enhancements will be campus-wide, not just at the Townhouses,” Segrue said. “Similar improvements will be made at Garden’s East and West, Devereux Hall, Doyle [Hall], Shay and Loughlen Halls, as well as the library and Hopkins Hall. A new external notification system consisting of high powered text to speech speaker arrays have been installed at Francis, Doyle and Shay halls.”
Justin Myers, a senior strategic communications major at St. Bonaventure, lived in the Townhouses last year, and is living there again this year. He said, “comparing this year to last year, I definitely feel more safe. I believe that this was worthwhile for the university.”
By Jared Leve, News Editor
levejl16@bonaventure.edu
