Simpson College Security is making a move to Hillman Hall this December, a choice prompted by the Administration without student advisement.

According to Chris Frerichs, director of security at Simpson College, the security offices on campus will begin moving after finals week into a new office in Hillman Hall. The move will take place during the break and the new office is projected to be operational by Jan. 1.

Not everyone is excited about this move. Some students have concerns how the move will impact student safety and about the lack of communication by administration to students on the decision. 

Melanie Gillet, Simpson College junior, is frustrated by this move and does not think it will make students any safer.

“The administration has already made the executive decision without the input of students, which I think is a problem,” Gillet said. “The administration isn’t listening to what the students want. I think that security should not move because Kent is the hub of Simpson College. Hundreds of students come through Kent every day.”

Gillet is concerned that Hillman will not offer the same round the clock access students have to Kent and that this will diminish student safety. A large part of her concern is response time.

“Especially during big events in Kent, security is right there to handle those situations,” Gillet said. “Whereas, if they were in Hillman Hall it would take them a bit more time to get into their vehicle and to travel to different areas around campus and I feel like Security does not really need to move.”

Frerichs has several plans in place for the transition. This includes the possibility of new technology and safety features installed at Hillman for after-hours assistance. 

Security is currently looking into the option of installing a doorbell camera combination while integrating the system with the new cameras being installed around campus and moving the security parking spaces from Kent to the Hillman parking lot.

“We are going to try to do everything we can to make sure this is as smooth as possible. We will be doing something with the front North door located right next to our offices,” Frerichs said. “It will be limited in the ability to get to us time-wise whereas in Kent the access is until 12:30 a.m.”

As updates occur, students will continue to be informed.

“The goal will be to get out as much information as possible to the students once we know exactly how this will work,” Frerichs said.

Work-study students in Kent should be able to provide some help.

“Not having the information desk I can see being a potential problem but currently they are trained to know how to do some of the stuff we handle and how to direct students,” Frerichs said.

Another solution in the works is to make the Student Development office the primary location for updating ID card access to minimize the need for students to travel to multiple buildings. 

Frerichs noted security may be able to soon remotely access the security system and edit building privileges to help with situations Student Development may not be able to resolve. Another possibility with the move could be a potential for work-study positions to become available within the new office.

The security office is open to student suggestions and wants to know what the main concerns are during this change. 

Frerichs said an email with detailed information will be sent out before the new office opens and he is looking forward to student feedback.

“For me, it’s about student input, it’s about making sure that students are safe as a priority rather than a secondary thought and making sure that security has the resources, the time and the plans to really reach all of Simpson students and Simpson campus. Otherwise, you are inherently preventing them from doing their job to a respectable level,” Gillet said.