Situated on a mountain slope, SNU's vast campus has various areas that are too dark and secluded which has prompted numerous students to voice their concerns. SNU is now stepping up implementation of safety-strengthening measures that aim to alleviate these worries.

On October 3, SNU announced measures that are a part of the "making a safer campus" campaign. SNU will install CCTV cameras and emergency interphones in the areas where there is little pedestrian traffic along the campus beltway. SNU will also establish a General Control Center that will exclusively deal with campus security and order.

Even though there are currently 975 CCTV security cameras installed within buildings that are managed by each department, this will be the first time that CCTVs will be installed outside. Before the end of this year, rotating cameras that are connected to the General Control Center will be set up in 18 locations such as the Graduate Student Dormitories, College of Education, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, New Engineering Science Building, and the Graduate School of International Studies.

SNU plans to establish a CCTV network that will cover the entire university by creating a General Control Center at the security police station in the cultural center and connecting all the CCTVs that are already installed within the buildings of the various departments.

In 5 areas that are particularly difficult for the security guards to inspect, such as the bus stop at the willow valley near the back gate, in front of the College of Business Administration, and Sangsan Mathematical Science Building, emergency call interphones will be installed which will allow requests for assistance to be made directly to the General Control Center in emergency situations.

Fearing that the instillation of more CCTVs might raise privacy issues, SNU put up official notices that asked for students' and faculty members' opinions on notice boards in each department before starting the campaign, but there were no significant objections.

It had been pointed out that SNU needs to take appropriate measures as there were growing feelings of anxiety among members of the university community who returned home late at night and even cases of violence and sexual assaults at libraries and dormitories that are open 24 hours a day.

Nam Ick-Hyun, head of the planning department, said,"The female faculty council and the female student council strongly demanded that more safety measures be implemented, which led to the development of this campaign. We are planning to increase the number of CCTVs as long as we acquire the consent of the students."

Oct. 12, 2010
Written by Yoo Min-Seok, SNU English Editor