Fear of Thieves at York University

The article, “Laptop thieves strike Student Center…again” in the month of November Excalibur is something that is not new to York University. Ever year it seems more and more students are losing their personal belongings with an expensive price tag. As lap tops are becoming more slick and portable, more of it is susceptible to be stolen in the eyes of the thieves. In a space where more student are more concerned than ever about their safety and stolen electronics, little action has been taken to prevent that. According to the article, many students feel that York University administration is not doing enough to stop the problem and therefore a sense of fear in a university space. If, however, the number of thieves increases within York University the presence of security and surveillance should also increase in relation. As the days are getting shorter, my concerned is the number of laptops and purses being snatch in the dark,which is, often, too many in the campus. As I was walking home one night last week around 6:00 after class, just outside of York Lanes in a very dim light, I felt somewhat isolated and susceptible to being mugged by the thug guys lurking around the corner. As a guy, I would fight back, but statics show, women are much more vulnerable as target to being mugged or even worse, assaulted. I think York University needs to take a drastic measure for its safety in campus by boosting up more security presence during late evenings and through out the night in 24 hour Scott Library. In a situation where thieves are stealing personal belongings, surveillance camera is not enough to make students safer especially when they are outdated or broken. Crime occurs quickly and by relying too much on the cameras which the university seems to be doing, the damage has been done already. I don’t think the crime rate will go down unless the university takes a different approach. By then, I will have graduated with thousands of students who probably had their lap tops, Ipod and cell phones stolen. I think York University is trying to find ways to save that extra million dollar a year to compensate for the post strike that happened last year. So, I am pessimistic about student’s safety at York University because security measure means investing thousands, if not, millions of dollars in security. So, for now, students are responsible for their own safety and hope things don’t go missing while you’re studying.