Ewha tightens security in the ECC for students' safety

        The students gathered in front of the door to the women’s washroom on the floor B4 of the Ewha Campus Complex (ECC). Inside, a strange woman had been talking to herself for an hour and wouldn’t come out. Finally, she was taken out by a guard and escorted off campus.

        This incident is typical of the work done by the eight security guards who work at the ECC.

        “Sometimes homeless people, beggars, or people with mental problems come to the ECC and scare students. I found one man who regularly visits the ECC with no specific purpose but to look at female students. And the number of outsiders seems to be increasing,” said Lee Kwang-ro, one of the guards. 

         “I feel uncomfortable that there are too many strangers at the ECC due to the safety issue” said Mi-ri (Science Education, 2).

          The ECC is monitored in two ways; closed circuit television (CCTV) and alarm systems back up the guards, who operate from room B162 and patrol the building 24 hours a day in shifts of four. Four guards keep watch one day and the other four guards work the next day. “We constantly patrol every floor, which has a total length of approximately 1.5 km, and each person has to walk around the five floors at least four or five times a day. This means one guard walks several kilometers a day just to patrol,” said Lee.

         Despite the ECC’s size and the problems caused by visitors, guards say they have not faced major difficulties in patrolling the building. Their biggest headaches come in managing people who violate the school’s safety regulations.

         “Visitors are not allowed to stay in the ECC after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 7:30 p.m. on weekends. But we have trouble with visitors who are brought by Ewha students. They want to stay longer with their friends,” said Lee. “One time, a group of people accompanied by Ewha students were drinking alcohol in the ECC late at night. The visitors adamantly refused to leave, but we had force these nearly drunk students out to prevent possible harm to other students.” 

            The other way that the ECC is secured is through theControlCenter located at room B201 of the ECC. The center is responsible for monitoring every nook and corner that human efforts cannot reach. Sixty-one CCTVs monitor the entire building--including inside elevators. Ten workers sit in front of the CCTV monitors taking up half of the room, closely observing what happens inside the building. 

           “The purpose of installing CCTVs is to monitor possible cases of theft, car crash, or malicious mischief,” said Park Il-young, the head of the Control Room which is a managed by the Office of General Administration (OGA). There have been seven cases where theControlCenter had to intervene during the five months since the ECC opening. “Cases that we resolved by investigating through CCTVs were mostly about property damage and car crashes. Also, we checked the CCTV recordings to look for a missing student because the student’s friend said that she last saw the missing friend at the ECC,” said Park. 

             The OGA also opened a general security control center at the beginning of the month inside the ECC. The center will monitor every building in Ewha through more advanced CCTVs. Also, with the establishment of theSecurityControlCenter , the OGA plans to add more safety devices.

             “We will have about 20 CCTVs stationed at the ECC and start one-touch emergency bell to help students in emergencies. A 24-hour rescue party will be ready any time a student calls,” said Park.