Director of Public Safety David Meyer answered questions regarding recent departmental decisions at the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) meeting this past Sunday night. Meyer responded to questions regarding Public Safety’s reaction to the recent shooting at Traverse Square, and discussed the relationship between his office and the Middletown Police Department.

Meyer defended Public Safety’s decision to not utilize Connect-ED, the University’s early warning system, after the shooting on Friday, Oct. 5. In the event of an emergency, Connect-ED sends an automated warning to students via e-mail.

“You have an off-campus incident,” Meyer said. “Within 20 minutes, the police told us there is no threat to the campus. If we thought there was an ongoing threat to the community, we would’ve used it. Ultimately it’s my decision on whether to use the Connect-ED system.”

Students further inquired as to whether a system was in place to ensure security were the campus threatened. In particular, Meyer was asked if there were lockdown procedures in place. Meyer insisted that while a system to implement a full campus lockdown was not foreseeable, Public Safety was looking into possible alternatives in the event of a major on-campus security issue.

“There is no lockdown alarm per se. It would be impossible to lock down this campus,” Meyer said. “We’re looking at the possibility of a camera system. The Science Center lobby, the Vine Street lot, Hi-Rise: they’re all candidates for such a system.”

Meyer also explained the relatively limited jurisdiction Public Safety has in situations regarding possession of illegal drugs, such as marijuana.

“We can’t stand between Wesleyan students and law enforcement,” Meyer said. “It’s between you and the police. We will stand there, we will help you, but we will not interfere. We’d be charged with interfering with law enforcement. A student that has marijuana already has made a decision that I can’t reverse. If a student has marijuana in their room they’ve made the decision that they may get arrested.”

In many cases, Meyer added, Public Safety tries to contain situations within the campus and only call outside law enforcement when they are legally obligated to do so.

“Normally we only call the police department when the situation is beyond our control,” Meyer said.

Circumstances in which Wesleyan students violate campus rules on non-University property further complicate Public Safety’s role. The numerous and well-attended parties at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house, which technically do not fall under University jurisdiction, have perennially been an issue for Public Safety.

“Beta is a private fraternity—it’s private property,” Meyer said. “We’ve been asked not to come on their property. Beta has chosen its own course in life, and there are issues there on a regular basis.”

Though students often associated Public Safety with breaking up weekend parties, Meyer stressed that his real concern is protecting students from potentially dangerous situations. “We have to talk about the liability issues when it comes to alcohol. If someone comes to your party and drinks and then walks in front of a car, there’s probably a liability issue,” he said.

Meyer sees education on liability issues as a useful tool for helping students make informed decisions without having to have their social events abruptly ended by Public Safety officers.

“Hosts have to make sure people are over 21,” he said. “If someone becomes intoxicated, you deal with them in a safe manner.”