By Akola Thompson

LAST Friday, I left my class before it had officially ended which was around 6:30pm. My first thought as I left the well-lit building which stood a few feet away from the infamous U.G caiman pond was, I do not feel safe.There were no lights in that general area, at least none which were strong enough to cast discernable beams, so I walked as quickly as I could between sources of light. No sooner had I reached the lights when I was once again plunged into darkness and thoughts of my safety came at me again. It was not a short walk.

As I was walking down to the bus park which is a good way from my class (as for some odd reason buses are not allowed past a certain point on the campus despite the time or weather) I heard a man whom I recognised to be a lecturer shouting at the guards for being inefficient and not doing their jobs.

I lingered in that dark space listening to the man berate the guards for their negligence, which he insinuated caused a young female student to have been gang-raped. I eventually spoke to him after he emerged and in listening to his narrative, I immediately saw the irony of me, a lone female student, standing in the dark on campus when I was told that the girl was raped during high afternoon. The lecturer later retracted his statements and stated that he did not know whether there had been a rape or not. From all indications, the incident did not take place as alleged.

Despite that, it caused me to recognise the glaring security issue that faces the university. Last year, for example, the university’s security system and personnel proved to be inefficient at best when students returning from the Christmas break found their possessions and doors missing. Thieves, despite the security systems put in place, had vandalised the dorms

This was by no means the first such occurrence. Throughout the years, there have been incidents in which students have been attacked and robbed on the university campus. Despite the spate of robberies and violence against students however, the administration last year opted to scale down on security guards when the opposite should have happened.

I will admit that the administration upon realising the need for entrance-point security checks, has seen the guards diligently carrying out these tasks. However, I do not believe the either the administration or the engaged security firm to be fully understanding of what a security check is. The security check implemented by the administration and carried out by the guards just entails a person showing either their student badge or I.D. card before walking or driving into campus.

The first thought I had when I was first subjected to the security check and one that has humorously come time and time again was, “Are they checking to make sure we are humans like webpages normally do?” Oftentimes I tell them that I possess no badge nor I.D. and I am still let through, causing me to ask the question what exactly do these measures solve?

The university has traditionally not done the optimum in keeping its campus safe. Before being enrolled at the campus, I occasionally went to see what it was all about, no one ever stopped me to ask me what I was going to do, never checked my bag or even looked in my general direction. While the security checkpoint has changed that, it can arguably be said to be a cosmetic measure.

The administration should ensure that there are hourly or quarterly patrols throughout the day, especially in the evenings and especially in isolated parts of the campus. I was told that patrols do happen, but never seeing a security guard outside of the guard hut, entrance points and the library, I am inclined to label this as false.

I have heard murmurings of campus security cameras and I am unsure whether they were put into place and even if they were, which areas are they targeting?

As a student who is concerned about the safety of herself and fellow students and lecturers, more must be demanded from the UG administration and its security systems and protocols. While the recent incident might have turned out to be a false flag, the conditions that currently exist – the inadequate lighting, the absence of clear security patrols, the relative absence of security cameras – together constitute an environment in which just such an incident is not only likely, but perhaps inevitable.