By Ryan ReehThe Daily Northwestern

A recent online Associated Student Government poll revealed 90 percent of respondents did not want side doors to be alarmed 24 hours a day, according to a Daily report Wednesday.

The issue came up from campus safety concerns in response to robberies and dorm break-ins during the 2005-2006 school year. Also, a Campus Safety Advisory Committee, which had several student group representatives, suggested that full-time University Police officers watch dorm lobbies instead of the current student security monitors now on duty late at night.

What is troublesome about this news is not the concern over campus safety (frankly, safety could always be improved), but the apparent lack of attention to the larger “Big Brother” matter at hand.

Is it fair to sacrifice privacy and personal rights in the name of security?

If that question seems familiar, it is. The same debate arises with changes in national security policy and, more recently, the Patriot Act.

This idea of “Big Brother” dominates George Orwell’s 1984, with the ultimate tag line: “Big Brother is Watching You.” The motto’s logic follows totalitarian themes of government surveillance of every individual.

I don’t think NU administrators are pursuing anything near “Big Brother” standards or Patriot Act-type legislation, but they seem all too eager to implement this new security policy to appear just concerned about safety.

In another DAILY report, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine said the 24-hour alarms in residence halls were a top priority and would be implemented “as fast as is practical.” (“NU OKs Safety Measures,” 10/19)

Really? That half-baked idea? Has he seen the cameras (which are about as equally effective) around campus I like to think of as the “blue light specials”? Even K-Mart got those right.

Beefing up security is not practical. Yes, strange people do break into dorm rooms and steal valuables. Yes, it is also true that intruders would have an easier time slipping past student security monitors than getting through police officers, closed-circuit cameras and 24-hour side door alarms.

But these poll results show that the majority of NU students (at least the ones that care to respond) feel safe with the current security setup.

For safety reasons, I can’t tell you exactly where I live on campus (the irony here is very intended), but to get to where I live you would have to pass through a door that requires an electronic key, another door that requires a separate key and another door that requires yet another key. I’m assuming you would be savvy enough to get by the security monitor and without other residents noticing.

If you can get past all that, you might as well just have my stuff. You’ve earned it at that point.

Students often respond to this security concern with: “Won’t those same police officers and cameras catch me walking home drunk or in some other embarrassing scenario?”

Yes, they would be the very same people and devices catching students at their worst moments. I’m not condoning that type of behavior, but it is intrusive for authorities to be in living spaces without a warrant. If dorm lobbies are analogous to entry points where residents live, it would be asking a lot of students to just let anybody with a badge and a UP uniform into their homes.

Parents might be asking: “Isn’t the university responsible for the safety of my child?”

Yes, that is also true. But security officials can’t help it if your child incorporates unsafe activities in their lifestyles voluntarily. Just because your kid is in college does not excuse them from knowing what the word “responsibility” means.

The answer to the safety debate is literally common sense. With poll results so strongly against the proposed changes in campus security, why let Big Brother into our dorms? If some feel unsafe on campus, why not increase the hours SafeRide operates? Or how about increasing UP patrol routes? I would even be in favor of adding more of those “blue light specials” around campus. Stick one on every corner if necessary. Money is not an excuse.

And students, don’t invite crime into your residence halls. Use the brain that got you admitted into college, not the one that will make you a victim, or worse, a statistic.

1984 has an even better message: Don’t let things get out of control. Even with officials you can “trust.”

Big Brother should not be watching you.

Reach Ryan Reeh at [email protected].