As students anxiously return to campus amid these unprecedented times, there is another change that has gone relatively unnoticed: the addition of an unmarked Campus Safety car. According to Frank Coots, Director of Campus Safety, there are four Campus Safety vehicles on campus: “two marked, one unmarked used for training transportation as well as the supervisor’s vehicle, and [a fourth] assigned to the Director.”
In addition, due to COVID-19, Campus Safety is limiting the number of officers per vehicle, which means that officers work less shifts with partners. This leads to an increase in the number of vehicles patrolling campus—especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Due to the increased demand for cars to accommodate the number of officers, Campus Safety has implemented “the use of vehicles from different Hamilton College departments to allow our officers to complete their mission.” This explains why students may have seen Campus Safety officers driving other vehicles around campus.
There are differing opinions about the increase in Campus Safety presence, both marked and unmarked. In regards to the unmarked cars, one student, Sophie Rubenfield ’23, commented that “they are a little off-putting.”
Another student, Katie Neilsen ’22, questioned, “Why not mark it? If it’s being used for transportation and the supervisor what is the point of it being unmarked?” Nielsen went on to say, “my first reaction was that I didn’t like it. I like to think of the campus police cars as being there to help you, so if you are in need of help you can easily identify them and reach out for help. Whereas unmarked cars are more to get the students in trouble.”
Mike Altman ’23 was less against the addition. “Campus security isn’t ‘out to get us’. I’ve had enough friendly encounters with them to know that they’re human and are just doing their job and don’t want the worst for us. I trust in their decisions. Though that opinion is completely subject to change in case they decide to clamp down on us with an iron fist.” Although contrary to other opinions, Altman stated that “honestly, it doesn’t bother me.”
It was unclear if the unmarked vehicle was recently purchased; however, there were two hybrid Campus Safety cars purchased that will eventually replace the two marked cars currently on campus.
