HELENA — If you're a college student, the last thing you should be worrying about is feeling safe on campus, and more concerned about getting those A’s and B’s. Now, thanks to a million-dollar donation, students at Carroll College are hoping to feel safer than ever.
“You can’t put a price on safety,” said sophomore Brynn Notbohm. “I mean it, truly is very important for students, and I think it's an important criteria that students are now thinking about their safety on college campuses with everything that's going on in the world.”
The Simperman-Corette Foundation donated over a million dollars to help strengthen campus safety by adding more security cameras, a concern many students have had before.
“We don't have security cameras in a lot of places, and I think we need that,” said junior Sean Monaco. “So this is amazing, this is well needed.”
Another concern from students is lighting, whether they’re walking back to a dorm late at night or seeing a figure walking in the shadows. School officials did tell MTN separate donations will help the school upgrade lighting, covering all bases for safety.
“When it is dark out, it is a little bit nerve-racking, I mean, especially because I am a woman,” Notbohm said.
“Yeah, you do have to be a little careful,” Monaco said. “It's like, this dude could have just walked from the street onto campus, and I don't know.”
The new camera system will cover the 64 acres of campus in public spaces, from along the perimeter to the heart of campus, making it easier to identify people and help with investigations when needed.
“If we have a description of a person, we can actually search all of our cameras across campus, and then be able to narrow that search down in a matter of minutes,” said director of campus security and public safety Jay Nelson.
Students have appreciated the work Nelson has done so far, like adding the student safety team, a program where students can escort those who don’t feel safe walking alone.
“Jay has been really active in including those voices and having student voices be represented and heard during this process, so it's been great,” said student body president Jack Conway.
Nelson says they have a one-year window to complete the project, and hope to finish ahead of schedule before the start of the new year.
