All University owned and occupied buildings equipped with card readers will require Brown ID swipe access as the spring semester begins, Interim Vice President of Public Safety Hugh Clements and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Sarah Latham announced in a Friday email to the Brown community.
Beginning Jan. 20, buildings with classrooms will require card swipe access between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., but “building-specific accessibility will vary beyond these hours to accommodate student organization activities, events, meetings and other programming,” the email reads. Buildings offering “shared campus services” will remain accessible to all community members with a Brown ID during standard business hours.
The University has already implemented security enhancements in Barus and Holley, the Engineering Research Center and the Lassonde Innovation and Design Hub, such as placing cameras at all entrances and exits and installing door alarms to signal propped doors. Brown public safety officers will continue to provide security in these spaces as classes begin, according to the email.
“In addition, Barus & Holley lecture halls 166 and 168, eight immediately adjacent and proximate classrooms (155 through 165), and the immediately adjacent hallways, restrooms and entrances to that area of Barus & Holley will be closed and inaccessible to everyone,” Clements and Latham wrote. President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 previously announced that new walls and emergency access doors have been constructed to close off portions of the building.
The number of Brown Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management officers on every shift has been doubled for “increased static and roving patrols,” according to the email, and there will be an increased security presence at events on or near campus. Providence Police Department officers will contribute to these initiatives when needed, the email reads.
New panic buttons and security cameras have been installed in “select buildings” and will “provide immediate, direct access to DPSEM during an emergency,” Clements and Latham added. Additional blue light emergency phones have also been installed across campus.
Voluntary and required safety and preparedness training will also be organized throughout the spring semester, according to the email. The training will teach members of the Brown community how to “report emergencies or suspicious activity, as well as how to use new security enhancements like panic buttons and blue light phones.” The training will also include programming related to active shooter emergencies.
“Always, our goal is a secure campus defined by preparedness, vigilance and mutual care,” the email reads. “We are committed to being community-centered, proactive and grounded in best practices, modern technology and clear communication.”
“Brown is a place of connection, intellectual curiosity, discovery and shared purpose,” Clements and Latham wrote. “As we move forward as a community, our focus is not only on protecting our campus, but on sustaining and restoring the sense of belonging, joy and possibility that defines who we are.”
Emily Feil is a university news and metro editor covering staff & student labor and RISD. She is a sophomore from Long Beach, NY, studying English and international & public affairs. In her free time, she can be found watching bad TV and reading good books.
