Around noon on February 14, an alert was sent out to the Saint Xavier University community informing that the loud sounds heard across campus were fireworks and not a potential threat to SXU.
Before the alert was sent out, several calls were received by Saint Xavier’s Public Safety and the Chicago Police Department alerting them of the noises.
Public Safety was quick to respond by hastily approaching smoke rising off campus.
The fireworks had been set off at a nearby funeral at Queen of Martyrs.
Police Chief Jack Touhy said incidents like the one on February 14 were uncommon.
When asked about the structure of Public Safety and how the department responds to situations like the one on February 14, Touhy said: “We have a hybrid department. We are a certified police department in the state of Illinois. We go through the same certifications and training that someone who works in Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn, or Chicago does.”
Alongside Public Safety’s student workers, SXU has both armed and unarmed security officers patrolling campus.
When asked about the student workers, Touhy responded by saying, “They’re a big help in the resident halls. They [are] also doing roving foot patrols at the resident halls. There are student workers in our office. There are fifty to seventy student workers throughout the year.”
When asked how many police officers there are per shift at Saint Xavier he said, “We try to average two police officers per shift.”
Touhy emphasized that the bus drivers and shuttle system bringing students across campus and to SXU buildings are also considered to be Public Safety.
Besides the human elements of university security, there are other forms of safety on SXU’s campus.
Touhy said, “We have a full 24/7 365 day dispatch center. It’s been upgraded in the last couple years.”
According to Touhy, there are now over 150 updated cameras located across SXU.
He comments on the access control system, which is the new IDs introduced in the fall.
Touhy said, “It’s a brand new system. We anticipate it will be really good for students. We’ve already seen a decrease in the number of cards that are damaged.”
He elaborated that for the majority of the campus the cards now work based on proximity alongside swiping.
Charts around campus detailing emergency scenarios are in place to instruct the SXU community on what to do.
There has been talk about the possibility of adding emergency locks to classrooms to increase safety in the case of an accident according to Public Safety.
Touhy empathized that all SXU community members should consider signing up for the alert system.
“It’s a really good thing to have because we also send out if we’re having classes canceled or snow alerts or things like that.”
Regarding the February 14 incident, he said, “In this case, we used it as an informational alert to put people’s minds at ease.”
Touhy stressed how students and faculty should feel free to alert campus security of anything out of the ordinary.
He said, ”I think those eyes and ears are the best thing we have.”
Public Safety asks students and faculty to be in contact so areas needing improvement can be addressed.
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