Fences, checkpoints, ID swiping locks and men with guns constitute the security blanket wrapped tightly around the hospital, the village and the stadium for the Games.
With the heightened fear of terrorism the last five months have seen, many parts of campus will hide under that blanket as well.
“Since 9-11 everyone’s become a lot more sensitive,” said Pete van der Have, director of Plant Operations. Van der Have thinks that security across campus would not be as tight were it not for the fear of terrorism, but safety measures in so-called “secure zones” would still be as thorough.
Secure Zones
Although the exact perimeters of secure zones are confidential, they circumscribe the stadium and the Olympic Village.
The Social and Behavioral Sciences Tower is inside the stadium secure zone.
On Feb. 6, 8 and 24, the campus is closed to all but essential personnel (hospital, security, etc.)
But on those days absolutely no one will have access to the tower. Given the tower’s vantage point, it could make an attractive perch for any would-be snipers.
“They’re concerned about security,” said Building Manager Gene Izatt. “So it’s just security.”
On Feb. 6, 8 and 24, security personnel will try to keep unauthorized people off campus.
“My people will be around campus,” said Lt. Sergio Palacios, security operations manager with the U Police Department. “We have orders to [check] ID.”
On other days, security will still patrol the U, but not as vigorously.
When security personnel see people on campus who don’t seem to know where they’re going, security will stop them and ask, “May I help you?” Palacios said. Follow-up questions like, “Are you a student/employee?” would determine if someone belongs on campus or not.
If security sees people milling about late at night, they will just stop them and demand to see ID.
Except for those days when the U itself closes, Feb. 6, 8 and 24, U administration has no blanket policy for building security and access. Individual building managers decided how to or not to restrict access to certain buildings, according to van der Have.
MEB
Officials have installed an ID swiping lock system in the Merrill Engineering Building and it will be locked up 24 hours a day from Feb. 2 to Feb. 26.
Faculty can get in, but anyone wanting to enter the building during that time will have to register themselves beforehand, according to Dana Robison, executive secretary in the dean’s office.
“We’re trying to have not too many people here,” she continued. “Researchers will just have to make sure they have their IDs.”
The College of Engineering wants tight security to keep labs and equipment secure, but officials are not worried about someone infiltrating the nuclear reactor in the MEB, Robison said.
“It’s not like regular joes can go marching in to where it is anyway,” she said.
The EMCB will be completely shut down. The building houses a 24-hour student computer lab, which will undergo “some cleanup and server work” while not in use, Robison said.
Annex
The annex will not be open to the public, according to Elizabeth Oswald, manager of operations. Anyone with employee, student, security or Salt Lake Organizing Committee ID will have “carte blanch” access to the building, but they will have to go through a check-in desk “to confirm that people who come to the annex are here for a legitimate purpose,” she said.
Instructors will teach a select few continuing education classes in the annex during the break, including some computer-related and English as a second language courses.
Oswald doesn’t expect a lot of people to come though.
“My sense is, across the board, there will be a drop-off in traffic,” Oswald said. “My sense is [employees] will take vacation time?I think it’s going to be a nightmare, but we’ll all muddle through.”
LNCO
Before the semester began, Languages and Communication officials posted fliers up notifying students and employees that the building would be closed from Feb. 2 to Feb. 25. Only employees and graduate students with key access to the building will be allowed in, and they will have to sign in with their department.
“That way we know for sure who’s there and who’s not,” said Assistant Dean Christian Anderson. “I think it will be extremely quiet.”
No meetings or events will take place in LNCO during the Games-time closure. Some teachers can arrange to meet with students outside the building, though. Anderson suggests most departments take care of any advising before or after the break.
Some faculty are taking advantage of the break to visit libraries or other locations outside of Utah.
“Faculty can treat this like spring break,” Anderson said. “It’s a chance for a lot of staff to catch up on projects you can’t work on when the office is busy.”
Union
The Union will be open the entire time with regular hours. No one will need to show ID.
“We’re open for business,” said Union Director Whit Hollis. Even Feb. 18, which is a holiday (President’s Day), the Union will still be open.
OSH
Orson Spencer Hall is on its regular schedule “because there’s so much going on in OSH,” said Building Manager Marilyn Cox. “It’s just business as usual.”
OSH houses the office of the social and behavioral sciences dean, the Middle East Center, the departments of political science, geography and philosophy and the Hinckley Institute of Politics.