Campus Safety Information
April 20, 2007
Dear Campus Community,
As we wrap up a week that began with a tragedy we could not have imagined before Monday morning, many of us are thinking about campus security. I appreciate the suggestions and encouraging notes that many of you have sent to my office this week.
If there is anything we might consider positive to come out of Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech, it is the lessons that may keep other campuses safe. There’s a great deal of talk about “locking down” campuses, and while the concept sounds simple, the reality is that it is virtually impossible to block all access to a public institution.
As a public institution, we must work instead to balance accessibility with safety. Crucial elements in finding that balance are information and transparency. With that in mind, we are launching a new page on the UNC Police website that has the names and photographs of people we have banned from our campus this academic year.
We have a longstanding practice of issuing persona non grata (sometimes called PNG or no trespass) orders to people whose behavior is not appropriate for our campus community. The orders can be issued for offenses ranging from violation of the student code of conduct, to theft, to felonies. A person who receives a PNG order isn’t necessarily dangerous, but he or she is unwelcome on our campus.
UNC police have long used this information as they monitor our campus, but given the events of this week, we think it is appropriate to share the information with the entire campus community as we ask you to be more cognizant of security. You can access the names and photos of UNC personae non gratae online.
If you see any of these people on campus, please call UNC Police at 351-2245. Although someone subject to a PNG order is not necessarily dangerous, we ask you to let our professional law enforcement officials handle any apparent violation of a PNG order. They will confirm the person’s identity and take appropriate action.
As a final word, some Korean Americans have been quoted in the press as being concerned about retaliation because of the identity of the assailant at Virginia Tech. Although I do not believe members of the UNC community will make assumptions like this, rest assured that this or any other form of stereotyping will not be tolerated in our campus community.
Sincerely,
Kay Norton