Jason WhitacreHigh-tech security doors will be installed on the East Wing of the S Building this June as part of a series of safety projects on campus. The installation of the doors has raised concerns with the Academic Senate, students and faculty who use the facilities.
With construction scheduled to continue until June 6, safety improvements on the western and eastern sides of the second floor have already begun. Updated security doors are part of a pre-pandemic plan to enhance campus safety, according to Suzanne Freeman, Co-Chair of the Facilities & Safety Committee and Professor of Fire Technology.
“The goal is to improve building access management and align facilities with established campus safety procedures,” said Freeman.
While this upgrade is a small action item from February’s Facilities and Safety Committee agenda, faculty members who are impacted see it as a larger safety issue for individuals operating on the first floor.
“We received the email about security doors on the second floor on a Thursday, and by Monday, the frame was already being worked on,” said Santa Ana College counselor Ann Cass. “It really made me wonder who or what the security doors were for when we all work in the same building. Are all employees not protected? Should the first-floor S-building employees be worried about someone?”
SAC Academic Senate President Claire Coyne believes that there should be a prioritization process for Facilities and Safety measures.
“This administration has been very forthcoming about where they’re looking to put funds to improve the facilities in certain areas,” said Coyne. “Now, we’ve asked if there could be a prioritization process,” Coyne noted that there are needs in the art building, as well as Hammond Hall.
Along with the question of need, there is confusion about how the faculty is meant to access the area once construction is complete and key cards are required.
Despite the regulations mentioned, Coyne and other faculty members still have unaddressed concerns.“What kind of message does that send to the students? Right below them is the transfer center, where students are constantly coming in, and all the counselors are down there.”
