No surveillance on several lots
My car got rear-ended in the lot 9 carpool lot while I was in class. Because I figured all lots had surveillance I went to the campus police to look at the tapes. There I was informed by the police that there are no cameras trained on parking lot 4, 8 and 9 which happen to be the busiest parking lots.
How is it that the university can spend so much on aesthetic things and yet can’t afford to buy cameras for the parking lots? This makes me feel unsafe as a female student, especially considering the recent rash of assaults at other universities. I wonder if the Medium could look into this because the school webpage does not have a complain button and this is an issue that needs to be addressed before someone gets seriously hurt in a parking lot.
Paulina Do
3rd year, life sciences
UTM student
If you get hit, there’ll be no proof
On the subject of campus safety, I’d like to see the Medium do a story about the lack of cameras in the parking lots.
My friend’s car was recently hit while in lot 9, and when we went to the Campus Police to seek help, we were told there is only one camera in lot 9, and it barely sees past the CCT wall. The Campus Police regretfully informed us that, not only were there few cameras trained on the lots, no cameras could be moved without wrecking the other cameras, and they could do nothing to help us. The story is much the same in other lots—for instance, lot 8 only has one camera that’s zoomed far out from the parking structure and cannot be zoomed in. If you get hit in the lower level of the parking structure, there’ll be no video proof.
The walkway by OPH is definitely a safety hazard, and I’m glad to see steps are being taken to make it safer. However, it’s terrifying that, as a girl, I know that if I’m in any parking lot on campus at night, there are no cameras there to watch me. Anything could happen, and no one would be able to help me.
I pay over $7,000 tuition annually. I should be able to feel safe in a parking lot. This is a commuter school, after all.
Erin Mander
3rd year, political science
