\n\tBy SHANNON O. WELLS<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tIn a discussion about campus safety protocols at the Oct. 12 Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee (EIADAC) meeting, Ella O\u2019Rourke, Student Government Board executive member, said SGB is collaborating with the Office of Facilities Management to improve Emergency Medicine System (EMS) alert and panic button <\/a>systems on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe have two committee chairs right now that are actually working with Facilities and Pitt Police on the panic button system, and how to increase awareness for students and make sure it’s accessible,\u201d she said, noting that in the Cathedral of Learning, where Wi-Fi can be spotty, students might not get EMS alerts in a timely manner and \u201cdon\u2019t really know about safety concerns on campus as they are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI just wanted to make everyone aware that some of the Student Government Board members are working on that \u2026 and I would be more than happy to connect anyone who’s interested in talking with them about (safety in labs) or anything else as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tO\u2019Rourke noted that students have recently brought concerns to SGB about privacy and security on campus and around the city, and questioned the need to enable GPS tracking on the PittSAFE app.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDoes that mean when I’m not using the app? Are there terms of service where I can limit when and how it’s used?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCommittee Co-Chair Susan Graff acknowledged this was something to consider in the area of anti-discrimination and advocacy. \u201cIs there a possibility to then have police or someone else use that app to locate people without them pushing the (panic) button, potentially, and what that means for privacy and safety?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tAnother committee member said his user privacy statement says the PittSAFE app<\/a> \u201cdoes not collect personal data of any type by default. But some features, when enabled, may be modified to collect personal data and user information,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you do the \u2018I\u2019m OK\u2019 (safety selection), it will send your location \u2026 But it is more a matter of, you say, \u2018Yes, please, tell them where I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGraff suggested sharing with student government that the app is \u201cnot like their mom tracking them on \u2018Where’s my iPhone\u2019 all the time, and that it’s really only to provide safety. I feel like that’s important messaging, especially given (it\u2019s) 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMiriam Meislik, media curator in the Archives & Special Collections, noted that in her workspaces at Hillman Library and on Thomas Boulevard, \u201cour panic buttons are hidden, and only staff can see them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey are, like, putty colored, so they look like they’re part of the desk \u2026 (they look) like a doorbell, really, and it sits right at the edge of the desk,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd that’s how I hit it accidentally. I literally bumped it, and next thing you know there’s a police officer coming up the elevator. I was impressed and embarrassed at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tPanic buttons in classrooms are \u201chidden\u201d the same, Meislik noted. \u201cIt’s just kind of off to the side so that we can get to it. But if a student needed it, they actually wouldn’t know where it was. We’d have to tell them or show them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCommittee Chair Bridget Keown, teaching associate professor in the Department of Gender and Science, clarified her understanding that the \u201cblue light\u201d app is intended for those needing some assistance or are uncomfortable in public, while the panic button is for more dire situations such as an active shooter, \u201ckind of a much bigger deal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat is not to say they don’t go to the same place, but especially in classrooms, the assumption is that the panic button (means) there are a significant number of people in danger. A blue light is (when) one person needs assistance,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it’s the scale of the response.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeown added that, in meetings with Pitt Public Safety & Emergency Management and Campus Utilization, Planning and Safety Committee (CUPS) officials, issues of privacy also were discussed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\u201cThey were talking about privacy policies and security regarding surveillance on campus, how the information in surveillance cameras was being used, how it is stored and things like that,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were told very adamantly that, first and foremost, Pitt Public Safety does not operate Flock (brand public surveillance) cameras<\/a>. The city of Pittsburgh does not operate Flock cameras \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Pitt has its own cameras and the information is held for about 30 days \u2026 it is only used for police purposes. It can’t be used for personnel matters, or for HR. And there does have to be a police procedural initiated before that footage can be used.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeown clarified that Pitt Public Safety is the \u201conly entity on campus that has the right to install a camera,\u201d noting that some have put their own cameras in labs and other spaces. \u201cThose are not authorized. If you feel you need one, then contacting Public Safety would be the first step.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tShe elaborated that it \u201csounds like communication between Pitt Public Safety and the (City of Pittsburgh) Police is improving, especially since the swatting (incident) that took place at Hillman a few years ago and the lack of coordination between these two entities \u2026 They do have better communication. Public Safety has access to the police scanners, so they know kind of what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey are not only monitoring their radio channels, but they are looking at other ways of coordinating with Pittsburgh Police to minimize activities like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tRegarding those who don’t have cellphones on them all the time, \u201cthere are places that may not have service that departments have been given the authority to pay for their landlines, and a lot of them just don’t,\u201d Keown said. \u201cIf something should happen where a landline is your only option, what exactly are we supposed to do?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThere also is discussion about installing mounted phones in public spaces that could be accessed, she added.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAlthough there isn’t really a concrete plan in place, I think to what Ella was bringing up earlier is also thinking about not just internet service, but the usefulness of landlines in a crisis would be something to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tShannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tHave a story idea or news to share? Share it <\/a>with the University Times.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n