Why the Heavy Presence of Campus Security at Universities Is Detrimental to Personal Growth
Nowadays kids are expected to go to college to explore life and grow into independent individuals. College is a whole new world for students. Students are faced with many challenges and are forced to make choices that affect them either positively or negatively. Now, more than ever before in a young adult’s life. it is the time for smart and effective decision making. Security at schools such as West Chester University make it very difficult for their students to grow and make decisions on behalf of themselves. It is one thing to help keep a campus safe, but excessive security nonstop is unnecessary. College is a time for young adults to explore life on their own and get a glimpse of what it is like grow up, College is not a place that is solely centered around academic growth however, it is centered around personal development too, Students have four years to find themselves without the help of their parents guiding them in the right direction.
Students no longer have their mother and father hovering over them making sure they make the right decisions or complete their homework. In this helicopter-parenting world. it is becoming harder and harder for young people to establish independence. In this generation, kids are spoiled and do not have to work for much. A lot of children are lucky and their parents give them almost everything they ever want or need; most parents even pay for their children’s college education. Students no longer have their parents holding their hand anymore, but they have security now to fill their role. There are security guards roaming the streets and campus nonstop, Some may say this is a good thing and that it helps keep everyone on campus safe, however it isjust giving students false accusations of what the real world is going to be like.
As adults, public safety will not constantly be nearby if anything were to go wrong. Adults have to handle situations on their own and make the right decisions without public safety. College students face security every night from 8pm to 4am. There are typically one to two officers in the lobby waiting for you to show your ram card with the sticker indicating that you live in the building. They claim they do this to keep everyone safe and only let students into the building, however during the day almost anyone can get into the building. Us students all tend to hold the door for one another, so most of the time you do not even have to swipe in. If you decide you want to have a friend come visit for the night, it is a huge ordeal. Students have to sign in everyone coming into their building even, if it is another West Chester student who lives in another resident hall.
Your friend must have a form of identification on them or they are unable to enter the building. A picture of your license is not good enough because they claim it could be photocopied. Even if student so decide to sign a guest in, that person has the ability to do whatever they want in the building once they pass security. There have already been incidents on campus relating to this issue such as the Schmitt Hall problem. A man dressed in West Chester gear entered the resident hall and walked the halls pretending to be a student. He then went into the women’s bathroom and stared at girls while they showered. lf schools are going to have such a strict security system, at least make sure they are doing a good job at it. West Chester University is ranked #4 for on campus arrest. This statistic makes the university seem to be filled with a bunch of delinquents, however we are all just teenagers trying to find our way.
Not saying that it is okay for kids to be underage drinking, but arresting all of their students is not going to solve anything. Student need to make mistakes in order to learn from them and grow as a person, Students are now responsible for themselves and are held accountable for all of their actions. In all honesty, living on campus is similar to prison. Everyone always makes college out to be an amazing time where you have the ability to grow up and gain independence, but I feel more coddled than ever. I thought living at home with my parents was bad, until I came here and realized I had it so good When I lived with my parents and came home I did not have any one searching my bag when I just finished class. I did not have to sign in my friends, or feel like I was constantly being watched; I had the ability to grow.
