If you want easy access to campus as a non-student, the Quinnipiac University shuttle is your answer. As students head downtown after a long week of classes and work, they are excited and ready to have a good time. Potentially dangerous situations are not on the forefront of the students’ minds. Hundreds of students line up at the shuttle stop to get their Q-cards checked and begin their night.

By taking this precaution Security can control who has access to the shuttle system. Unfortunately, this is not the more crucial time to check Q-cards. At this time, Security is merely controlling who exits the campus. Therefore any person planning on causing distress at Quinnipiac would be on his or her way out. Security should be more concerned with who enters campus, rather than exits it.

The real danger lies in New Haven, where Quinnipiac students board the shuttle back to the Mount Carmel campus. In my experience, students are not asked for their Q-cards downtown. Usually the students are just handed plastic cards identifying their place on the shuttle. Security seems more concerned with getting the students onto the shuttles safely and quickly than monitoring who comes and goes. This practice opens up the campus to potential threats, as well as wrongdoers. Random people can pose as Quinnipiac students and bypass security altogether.

Likewise, QU students are not asked for their Q-cards when taking the shuttle back from the Hamden Plaza or North Haven Shopping Center.

“To be honest, I don’t feel that it’s very safe,” freshman Tara Fressle said. “They never check IDs, and I think that any shady person could have access to campus.”

As long as a person appears to be approximately college-age then he or she should have very little trouble getting back to campus.

The lack of shuttle security puts a damper on the hard work and dedication of Quinnipiac University Security. Security works tirelessly to ensure a safe campus. Their 24-hour services never cease to benefit the community.

“Extensive measures are taken by Security to facilitate a safe environment in this community here at Quinnipiac University,” Graduate student and Resident Assistant Jillian Giguere said.

Despite the many benefits of the shuttle system at QU, it also poses a major threat to campus safety and well-being.